210 Battle
by 210R
Summary: Eh, it be my own version. I got the information that Battle Royale existed halfway through writing it: I got the rulez and stuff from someone who pretended they were original. shrugsoh well.
1. Introduction and Character List

**210 Battle**

1: Zach1: Olivia

2: Brandon2: Sara

3: Connor H3: Mckenzie

4: Andy4: Lauren

5: Nick5: Aubrey

6: Alejandro6: Laura

7: Donovan7: Shelby

8: Joe8: Lexie

9: Chris9: Amanda

10: Ferris10: Gabby

11:Steven11: Angie

12:John12: Brittany

13:Connor M13: Chelsea

14: Eric14: Aly

15:Taylor15: Caroline

"To walk into a place and feel tension in the air, to feel hatred and deception - that is the feeling of mistrust." 

- Anonymous 

"Guilt - that horrible feeling you get when you know in your heart that if you had tried, you could have done it."  
- Anonymous

Introduction - 210 Battle is the epic story of 30 students from Roehm Middle School pit against each other. As you read, you may find yourself rooting for your character. Whatever you do, no matter what you do, don't stop reading even when your character is 'out'. I'm sure you all want to find out who the winner is, anyway…


	2. Chapter 1

**1**

Donovan (Boy No. 7 ) put down his silver knife and fork and looked around the gigantic ballroom in which he sat. The high walls were a soft golden brown, reflecting a bright beautiful light from brass lamps that hung about the large room. Other knives and forks clattered and scraped against delicate china plates as he folded his white cloth napkin gently before wiping his mouth. Across from him sat Zach ( Boy No. 1) who was just finishing up his delicious pork and rice. To Dono's left was his girlfriend Sara (Girl No. 2), another student at the school they all so reluctantly attended..  
It had been Ms. Prok (The Language Arts teacher ) who had come up with the astonishing idea; for as many people in the advanced language arts classes to meet up for for a writing retreat. She had organized this huge event where (if they had the money) students could fly out to sunny California and for one week hang out with other students of the Advanced Class. Coincidentally, 15 girls and 15 boys had shown up to the hosted event - all using money out of their own pockets to fly down and spend time with each other. It seemed like only the most dedicated students had shown up, and some not so known ones appeared on the scene as well.  
Mrs. Prok sat to the left of Dono. He had barely touched his cooked meal as he was deep in conversation with Laura (Girl No. 6). Laura had turned up out of the blue (to the dismay of some) after she had been removed from the advanced class for repeated instances of missing homework assignments. Seeing as she was out in California, and had obviously paid a large sum to come here, she was welcomed to the students only party - after all, they couldn't just send her back the way she came. The table Dono sat at seemed to be full of the smartest students in the class. Connor Mcknight (Boy No. 10) was sitting next to Zach and was looking around at some of the other students who had shown up for the festivities. Their table was one of many which hosted about 6 people. Mrs. Prok had done a grand job - the tables were nice, the china, cutlery and waiters were all perfect, it really was more than Dono deserved. But he decided that while he was on vacation he would enjoy it as much as possible.  
Looking across the room, he saw a table that sat mostly girls. He was only able to see the back of Eric (Boy No. 14) who was deep in conversation with Amanda (Girl No. 9) and Gabby (Girl No. 10). It looked like they were done with their meals, as the hushed conversation was fast and low spoken. Olivia (Girl No. 1) and Lexie (Girl No. 8) were holding a whispered conversation as well. 'Girls will be girls,' though Dono, giving off a slight smile. He followed their eyes to a table that sat only two people.  
The short one, Connor H (Boy No. 3) sat talking to Caroline (Girl No. 13). They seemed to be close friends at school (as far as boy and girl friends who aren't dating in middle school go, anyay), and it was for sure that they were both into this entire Soccer stuff (which Dono knew tons about, but didn't feel like getting up from his seat due to a combination of bladder problems and contemplation of all the students present.). Connor was a student with a hazy past but was now in the advanced class and performed well there. Caroline was the designated 'Classroom Helper' for this retreat and many of the other activities the advanced class did who always seemed really attached to the students in the class. Dono knew that he wanted to become an A+ student one day, and it would probably come true at the rate he was going. It seemed as if the two had finished their meals and were simply chatting. He had no clue what they were talking about, but it may have had to do with conflict with another student, Angie (Girl No. 5).Angie, with long red hair, small form-fitting jeans, a tight Aeropostale T-Shirt and lots of ponytail holders on her wrist didn't look like she belonged there. Everyone else had dressed up for the nice occasion, but she just seemed to stroll around in her casual, messy clothes as if nothing was wrong. She was currently laughing loudly at something another student had said. For all Dono knew; it could have been anything. Angie was quite the playful jokester, who, for some reason, liked to have fun taking the mickey out of some of the smarter students. She still managed to cling onto her probation in the Advanced Class though, and Dono had no real problem with her.  
Sitting next to her was Alejandro (Boy No. 6) who was grinning about something that Dono couldn't hear. Alejandro was the easy-going student that always followed the rules but wasn't afraid to loosely abode them either. He was heavily into making comics about his teachers, usually Ms. Wez, and his locker was littered with various allusions to these jokes. Angie and he shared similar tastes in this, which may have led them to become friends when talking about this matter in the class. They were probably making jokes about her right now.  
Angie and Alejandro were talking mostly to themselves, but Brandon (Boy No. 3) and Nick (Boy No. 7) also sat with them. Angie usually sat with her two best friends, Olivia and Caroline, but a particularly comical Mrs. Wez joke had just entered her mind and she felt like sharing it with Alejandro. Brandon and Nick were talking in a casual tone, not involved in the conversation Alejandro and Angie were having, whispering or bombastic, and seemed to be enjoying themselves on this rare occasion. Next to them was Joe (Boy No. 8) who was busy eating his meal. Joe filled out the table, which seemed to be enjoying itself as a whole.  
"Ahem," Dono looked to his left to see that Ms. Prok had stood up and was addressing the whole banquet hall.  
"Hello, everyone," he said. Mckenzie (Girl No. 3) and Aubrey (Girl No. 15) cheered at this. Although it was loud and unneeded, Ms. Prok laughed at their jubilancy.  
"I'd like to start by saying welcome to all you students who were able to come. Thanks for making this possible," he said. At this point all eyes were glued on him. Dono found himself looking at Ms. Prok too; who seemed to have a commanding voice that would echo throughout the great room.  
"We started out as a small Class. On my first day I only had only a glimmer of expectations from you guys. My opinion of you has grown so much."  
Some kids clapped and cheered. 'I don't think the clapping and cheering is actually necessary,' thought Dono. The voice in his head said it comically as Dono was enjoying every moment of the party.  
Ms. Prok continued, "My class has had its ups and downs, but seeming as we're all together and united - let's make this the best week of our lives!"  
Dono clapped along with everyone else as Ms. Prok sat back down in her leather coated chair. Dono turned to her with a grin.  
"Nice speech," he said.  
"Thanks Dono," said Ms. Prok. "Well, I really have to go to the bathroom so I'll be right back." Dono watched as Ms. Prok rose and walked across the carpeted floor, which was smothered with multi-color diamond and triangle patterns; each which were either an olive green or gold.  
"Dono, this is something I would never have expected to happen," said Sara. Dono turned to face her as he heard her voice. Sara was smiling - she was truly happy. "Seeing so many smart people together in one place," she continued, "It seems like a surreal dream. I guess we should enjoy this vacation as much as we can."

Dono replied, "Yeah, this is great. I also can't believe that we're here either. It's going to be awesome talking to all the other students who aren't are close for the first time outside of class. And we're in California!"  
A loud splintering sound came from across the hall. The size of the room magnified the sound and Dono looked to see Taylor (Boy No. 12) staring at a shattered plate in front of his feet. Taylor looked up to see the rest of the students staring at him.  
"Oops."   
Everyone cracked up as two waiters cleaned up the mess. Dono decided he would take this time to have everyone explain why they came, just for a laugh.  
Standing up, he began, "Hey everyone. I'm Dono, and I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself." Dono chuckled to himself at this, for everyone knew him, and they new his family was incredibly wealthy, which would explain how he got the money and why he came. He continued:

"I was wondering if anyone else would like to give a more formal explanation."  
The first to raise their hand was Aubrey. She was wildly smiling as she stood up to tell her classmates about herself. "Well, hey, guys. I'm in the advanced class as you know… uh, and you all know me as Aubrey" Some girls giggled at the hilarity of these mock introductions. "I'm really glad to be here and really excited too. I'm sure we'll all get to know each other a little more over this next week, and it'll bring the students together.. Um… go OSU!"  
A few other students cheered at the sound of this.  
Dono stood up, "Would anyone else like to 'introduce' themselves?"  
Mckenzie was next to go. "Hey everyone, I'm the girl who you all know. I'm also the biggest Joe Jonas fan girl in this room."  
_Screech!_  
Across the room, Lauren (Girl No. 4) was standing and looking straight at Mckenzie.  
"You're wrong," she said. "I'm the biggest Joe Jonas fan girl."  
"And what makes you say that?" asked Dono.  
"I'm Lauren, nice to meet everyone!" She said mocking the playful introductions they were all giving, as they all already knew each other. She then waved her arms frantically before pointing them in Mckenzie's direction. "Now, let me get it through to you Mckenzie, I am the biggest Joe Jonas fan girl in this room!" she exclaimed.  
"None of you are!" this time it was Brittany (Girl No. 11) standing. "I am the biggest Joe Jonas fan girl!"  
Mckenzie replied, "You all know I'm the best, you're just jealous!"  
"Jealous!" screamed Brittany," Who would be jealous of you?"  
"Look who's talking!" said Lauren.  
"I'm glad my name is Angie. This makes me feel special," commented Angie out of nowhere.  
"Enough!" said Dono, almost doubling over with laughter. "The battle of the fan girls will begin after the banquet, deal?" The three nodded firmly in agreement. 'They're a little… too serious,' thought Dono. 'I mean come on; he's a Hollywood stay, for Christ sakes, they'll never actually meet him!'  
When Dono asked for any more mock introductions or explanations, no one said anything. Everyone must have talked with each other just before the banquet started.  
He sat down and looked across the table to see Zach and Connor M with their eyes closed. Their chins were resting on their shoulders and their mouths were half open.  
"Guys?" he asked. They made no response.  
"Are you guys asleep?"  
Yet again, there was no response. Dono looked to his left to see Laura with her head on the oak table, breathing gently. Sara was doing the same. Then Dono began to feel drowsy as well. An inescapable haziness overwhelmed him, swallowing him like a thick curtain. All zeal he once felt was veiled behind dark gray fog and his mind was swimming. His brain was commanding his brown eyes to close. Dono noticed that other students were succumbing to sleep too, or were spiraling dangerously towards it. A misty wall flattened all his remaining senses, and with one small nod he was fast asleep.

The bald waiters who had been serving food entered the banquet hall. They were all wearing gas masks. The one who had cleaned up Taylor's shattered plate looked at them with pity. Ms. Prok also entered and looked upon them with contempt.

Their bodies were collected and loaded onto a bus. The bus took them to the California International Airport, which then flew them across the country to the Detroit Metro Airport. From here they were taken by another bus to Mackinac City, located at the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Their unconscious bodies were hauled onto a boat which made a 27 minute trip to Mackinac Island. At this point, there was no hope for the poor souls as they landed on the docks of the once populated land mass. It was night; a dark black night, and one which perfectly suited their arrival.


	3. Chapter 2

**30 students remaining**

**2**

Angie moaned and shuffled her small feet. The floor was hard - not nicely carpeted like before. She looked down to see glazed wooden beams laid in perfect patterns. The room he was in was covered with complete darkness. It was much, much smaller than the banquet hall she had been in only 5 minutes ago.  
'Wait,' she thought. 'Was it 5 minutes, a half an hour or maybe a whole hour?' Looking round the room, she observed no clocks. She observed some other things though. She was sitting in a classroom that was littered with various wooden desks. Other students were slumped in these desks, some were sitting against the gray wall and others were lying on the cold floor. The distinction between Angie and the rest of them was that they were all sleeping soundly. A large black board covered a wall near the small doorway (there was only a single door in and out) and looking up Angie saw dingy lights hanging from the black ceiling. They were turned off, of course, but he still knew what they were.  
Someone groaned, and Angie looked around to see the rest of her fellow students slowly waking up. Some yawned and others stretched. Something in that banquet hall had happened; they hadn't magically appeared here out of the thin air.  
A feeling of claustrophobia fell over Angie as she felt clamminess around her neck. Reaching up, her hands clasped some sort of cold necklace or collar. It was made of thin metal, and as she felt around it there seemed to be no way to take it off. The metal was cold, and chilled her neck to a point of annoyance.  
"Where are we?" asked Chris (Boy No. 9). Others also asked their own questions as they awoke.  
"What's going on?"  
"Why is it so dark?"  
"Can you see me in here?"  
"Where's my new handbag?"  
Angie was the only one who heard the noise through the chatter, but it was a small fluttering of wings - almost like propellers. The propellers were moving rapidly, and Angie couldn't exactly place her finger on what the sound was. A light appeared, dimmed by the curtains at the windows. The other students then noticed the noise and looked over to see what it was.  
Aly (Girl No. 14) made the foolish move of pulling open the cotton curtains. Bright light streamed into the room and everyone momentarily lost their vision. The noise was ever louder, and as vision was regained people squinted through the brightness to see a helicopter touching down outside. Several men ran up to the helicopter door and opened it. Out walked a very familiar face, although Angie couldn't tell who through the billowing dust cloud brought on by the helicopter's blades.  
_Clomp, clomp, clomp._   
The feet made noises as if they were wearing steel boots.  
A steady marching was coming from outside the dark room. Everybody turned to face the small doorway across from them. The marching suddenly stopped and Angie heard a faint, "You first."  
The door slammed open and Ms. Prok, followed by several armed soldiers, walked into the room. They turned on the lights, and everyone had their first view of their surroundings. The students were indeed in a classroom - it wasn't a modern day room, either. Everything had an antique look to it and seemed generally old fashioned. There were no computers or massive file cabinets that you would see in a general classroom today. The only sign of modern day life was a 22" television, connected to a VCR and sitting on a stand in the corner of the room (which Angie could immediately tell had been placed there from the beginning).  
Ms. Prok stopped behind the large oak desk at the front of the room. Two soldiers, armed with automatic machine guns, stood at her side. Other soldiers filed into the classroom and spread out, surrounding the students until there were about 20 of them spanning the walls in total.  
"Hello," said Ms. Prok. "I'm sure you're wondering what's going on and I'll be able to explain it in a few minutes. First off, let me just show you something." At this point she turned around to face the black board. She picked up some white chalk and began to write on the board, dust particles flying in her wake. Angie turned to look behind her. Laura was sitting on the flat portion of the desk, looking straight at Ms. Prok while tapping her foot. She looked very casual compared to her fellow students. Dono was in front of him, holding Sara's hand and shivering. Other studentss were shivering like Dono, and Angie realized it was quite cold - she even had goose bumps.  
"Do you know this?"   
Angie refocused her thoughts on Ms. Prok and ignored the cold.  
On the board was the word 'genocide'. Nobody said anything, and she repeated the question:  
"Do you know this?"  
"Um," muttered Ferris (Boy No. 11), "Isn't genocide like a disease or an STD or something? I'm sorry, I thought we didn't have to _learn_ on this retreat."  
"Exactly," replied Ms. Prok. "Although you could have said it more formally, that is exactly what it is." Then Ms. Prok slammed the chalk on the word genocide, causing everyone to jump. A look of anger filled her eyes.  
"You're exactly wrong!" he shouted. Ferris was shocked at the sudden outburst. "This is what the government means. Genocide is the mass execution of a group of peoples. But you, 13 to 14 olds, can not even understand such a simple thing? That is why the government has ordered the eradication of all un-orderly youths. All you do is sit in front of the computer all day, chatting away mindlessly! You text in class. Your advanced class is a ridiculous excuse for intelligence. You should be worrying about your educations! But the beautiful U.S. of A. government has decided something needs to be done!" She said the final line so spitefully that some students jumped. A vein throbbed in her temple and her eyes were narrowed.  
"E-Eradication?" stuttered Connor M.  
"Eradication is precisely what I said," said Ms. Prok. "It's not my fault that this is going to happen. It's all your faults for being so simply foolish and wasting away in front of the computer, getting fatter and fatter and stupider and stupider. Ever hear of doing homework? I know a lot of you do it in the mornings. You obviously DON'T care about education as much as you should. That's why the lovely government is placing you in this test game."  
"But what is going to happen?" said Dono. He, along with Sara, all the smarter students and just about everyone in the room (not including Laura ) looked scared.  
"Oh, yes, of course, I better explain what's going on," Ms. Prok. "It would be cruel and unfair for me to simply leave you wondering what is going to happen, especially when you're in the situation you're in."  
She left this last line hanging - clearly to be ironic. No one found it funny.  
Gabby interrupted, "Ms. Prok, cut to the chase… what the hell is going on?!"  
Ms. Prok frowned and stared at her for a few seconds. Gabby stared back, but there was something about Ms. Prok's cold demeanor that forced her to look away.  
"Since you really have to know 'what the hell is going on', I'll tell you."  
She paused.  
"Today's lesson- you will all kill each other till one is remaining." 


	4. Chapters 3 and 4

**30 students remaining**

**3**

Everyone stood gaping at their 'teacher'. A fly twittered in the back of the room, making a sounder louder than what would normally be heard. A broken light flickered and buzzed above the students' heads.  
"Kill?" said Zach.  
"Do I have to explain it any more than I just did?" smiled Ms. Prok. "How much info do you stupid kids need before you realize that when I say 'you will all kill each other till one is remaining' I mean it?"  
"How are we stupid? You march in with a bunch of soldiers and then tell us we have to kill each other till one is left. Isn't it _normal_ that we would ask questions about what the hell is going on?" asked Brandon (Boy No. 2).  
"This is a joke, right?" asked Aubrey, not waiting for the answer to Brandon's question. "Some sort of fun thing we're doing while we're all on vacation?" Some other kids nervously agreed.  
Dono stared at Ms. Prok with a cold eye. He knew that she was serious; he'd already heard rumors of the government planning to wipe out 'uncouth juveniles'. But he had never thought he would have fallen under that category.  
"It's no joke, I hate jokes," said Ms. Prok. "If anything is a joke-"  
_Brr-rr-Brt!_  
Ms. Prok turned to look at Chris, who was standing between a crossfire of stares, trying to look serious. Everyone around him immediately pulled their shirts up around their noses.  
"Oh my god, that smells like crap Chris!" exclaimed Taylor, among many of the various insults that were sent in his direction.  
"Did you seriously just fart?" asked Ms. Prok.  
"Um… maybe?" said Chris nervously.  
Ms. Prok looked as if she was going to explode before throwing up her arms and screaming.  
"That will not be tolerated!" exclaimed Ms. Prok. Her arm moved like a whip to her back pocket. It then shot up within seconds of moving back. Dono watched as a small silver object shot across the room. It stabbed into the wall not a centimeter away from the side of Chris's head.  
"Oh my god!" screamed Chris, running away.  
A small, silver knife was stuck into the wall. It had just barely missed Chris's head. If he was anything right now then it was lucky. Ms. Prok slowly walked out from behind the glossy oak desk and swiftly moved towards the wall. She grabbed the handle of the knife and pulled it out of the wall, turning towards Chris. Chris gasped and hunched his shoulders, putting up his hands in a defensive position.  
Pointing the knife at Chris with every syllable, Ms. Prok said, "Like I said, immature behavior like that will not be tolerated again. If anything like that happens one more time, this goes through your head and not the wall."  
Chris winced as Ms. Prok made her way back to the desk.  
"Anyway," she began. "Let's get to business, and quickly too. Just watch this video and you'll understand everything."  
Ms. Prok picked up a small remote and pointed at the television in the musty corner of the room. She clicked at once, and the screen flickered to life. There was a woman on the screen who had pigtails. She was quite beautiful, with blonde hair and a skimpy skirt and long sleeved shirt. Dono looked around to notice all the girls in the room were wearing the exact same clothes - a short black skirt, black shoes and a long-sleeved white top. The boys were all wearing white polo shirts and black jeans along with the same black shoes. The same feeling of claustrophobia came over Dono then as it had Angie not minutes ago; he looked at Sara's neck to see a metal collar. It circled the entire circumference of her neck and there was a small black area on the front that looked like an LCD screen, but nothing was displayed. Reaching up, he realized the same collar was around his neck, and just about everybody else's in the room (the only ones not wearing collars were Ms. Prok and the soldiers). Nudging Sara with his elbow, he grabbed his collar. He pointed at it to let her know it was there, and then she reached her hands up to her neck and gave him a look of terror and surprise when she felt her own.  
The girl with the blonde pigtails and skimpy outfit was smiling at the students via live broadcast on the television screen.  
"Hello, Advanced Language Arts Class Students!" she exclaimed, just a little too happily. "My name is Sammy Dwyer, and I'll be helping you learn the ups and downs of this game, so you can fight with strength and gusto!" She pumped her fist and gave a huge smile when she said this, showing off her bright, sparkling white teeth. The over zealous woman was as irritating as an itch on your back that you're unable to reach. She had a whiney voice and was way too happy. Imagine a kindergarten teacher. Now imagine a hot kindergarten teacher. Sammy Dwyer was like that.  
"I'm sure you're all wondering where we are and all, especially since it's the middle of the night!" she gave a big smile and spread her arms. Behind Sammy appeared a satellite view of what seemed to be an island. It was dark, as it was night (as she had just said), but Dono noticed old city streets and a large fortress. 'It's probably one of those ones left over from the American-Indian War or something,' he thought.  
Sammy continued, "We're all currently on this island! Don't worry, we evacuated all the people - it's completely deserted. Not to say you won't find the occasional animal, of course, but there will be no people except us here and you out there."  
'But where exactly was '_there_',' thought Dono.  
Sammy wasn't able to continue before Angie interrupted her live broadcast.  
"So this is where you decide to put us?" she said with her eyes closed, leaning against the wall with her arms folded "Mackinac Island?"   
Ms. Prok was slumped against the desk with her arms crossed, but slowly turned to face Angie as she said this.  
"Yes," replied Ms. Prok. "The official name of this island is Mackinac Island. It has a huge historical importance, so please don't try to go road rage and destroy everything you see."  
"Well," said Angie, "Don't you think it's unfair for these kids? I've been to Mackinac Island before. I'll know all the nooks and crannies of the island. If this isn't all a joke, then I'll be able to kill everyone easily."  
Ms. Prok pulled up his shirt to reveal a Colt .369 pistol, aiming it at Angie.  
"Well maybe I should just kill you now to even the odds?" she asked. Angie was staring at the barrel of the gun that wasn't even 10 yards away from her.  
She put her hands out and made a backing off motion, "Wow, jeez, I didn't mean it like that or anything, um, just pride, y'know?"  
"Of course," said Ms. Prok. "Just pride."  
She returned the pistol to its holster and said to the terrified students, "Back to the video."  
All heads turned to the television and Sammy continued:  
"Like I said," spoke Sammy Dwyer, "You're all on your own on this island, it's completely deserted. You can't escape by water either. We have 12 guard ships all positioned half a kilometer away from each other around the island. They have the order to shoot to kill. The island itself is about 6 kilometers lengthwise and 3 kilometers tall, if you were looking at it from above. But there's another reason why you can't escape by water."  
'Another _reason?_' thought Dono. 'What's next, we all have to wear funny hats?'  
"Now, about the collars you're wearing."  
As Sammy said this, most students who hadn't yet noticed they were wearing collars reached up to their necks and felt them. There were some gasps in the crowd and one kid moaned - he may have been claustrophobic. Dono and Sara just looked at each other, and the T.V. - which showed a picture of the exact collar they were wearing located behind Sammy. It was spinning slowly as she explained the various uses the collar had:  
"These collars can track your positions. We'll know where you are at all times. But they can do some other cool stuff. Let's say you try to escape. We can send a signal to your collar. The electromagnetic waves can't be stopped either, so hiding in a well won't do you any good. The waves then trigger the collar, which starts to beep… and BOOM!"  
When she said this, Nick (Boy No. 7) shouted, "No way?!"  
"Calm down, kid," said Ms. Prok. "These collars are explosively lethal. The force of the explosion will be just enough to rip your jugular, but usually you'll get your head blown off. You'll die an extremely painful death. There are a few more rules to the collars, which I'll explain."  
She continued, "Every day - four times a day - at 12 and 6, AM and PM, I will announce two things. The first is the people who have died since the last announcement. We know this because the collars also track you pulse, indicating whether you're alive… or not. The second are the 'Danger Zones.'"  
She paused for some sort of dramatic effect, which didn't go down too well with the scared students.  
'Danger zones - I'm sure they're completely harmless,' thought Dono sarcastically. Another voice in his head said, "You idiot! This isn't the time to be making jokes!"  
He ignored it as Ms. Prok continued her lecture on danger zones:  
"The island has been divided up into grids," at this point Ms. Prok drew a shape that looked vaguely like Mackinac Island on the board. She then put lines through it in a grid like pattern. She labeled the grid by writing A, B, C, D, etc. vertically down the side to the left of the island, and 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. horizontally above it.  
"When I announce the Danger Zones, I will say something like 'C-3.'" She knocked the C-3 square on the board. "This becomes a Danger Zone. If you are in a Danger Zone at the time it becomes one, then your collar will explode."  
She let his final sentence hang over the room.  
"Walking into a Danger Zone after it has become one will also mean instant death," she added with a grin.  
'That's right,' thought Dono, 'Treat us like cattle. Forcing us to move around like that, huh? Then we won't stay in groups - or maybe even move right into the trap of someone willing to play this game.'  
Then a thought occurred to Dono:  
_Who was willing to play this game?_  
He observed his fellow students; his friends. It was obvious he could never really trust any of them as he had hardly hung out with most of them back at home except Sara. But judging by their personalities…  
There was Laura, and she definitely had distaste for the class. She might play the game. Then there was Caroline. Dono was almost positive that she wouldn't play. Most of the girls would probably avoid playing too. Angie was one who might play; she had been to this place before. It gave her a slight advantage over some of the other students. Then there were all his fellow smart kids, and that was an entirely different story…  
'Stop,' thought Dono, halting the whirlwind of thoughts in his head. 'They want me to think like this. I'm falling into the government's trap. I'm sure if we got enough people together, a big enough group, then we could somehow break in here and destroy this horrible game.'  
"By the way," said Ms. Prok, "Once you leave this school, it will immediately become a danger zone."  
'Crap,' thought Dono. 'That just stole our last wild card.'  
"Seeming as I've told you all you need to know about the collars, lets get back to the video," said Ms. Prok. All heads turned towards Sammy.  
"So, um, that is exactly what the collars will do," said Sammy. "Another thing - if you try to rip the collar off, it'll also explode. Anything to try and get these collars off will instead have your head blown off." A few kids took their hands away from their necks.  
"Now," she smiled brightly, "What are you going to fight with?" She bent over and lifted up a bag. The camera backed up to reveal a table, which she placed the green burlap bag on. It seemed odd; things were jutting out of it at random places.  
"You each get a day pack, which has several items in it. First is food and water (she pulled out bread and three bottles of water), which I'm sure you'll all use sparingly! Second you'll get a map, pen, and compass that will be especially helpful on your travels around the island. Just like Ms. Prok drew, the map is labeled with an A-1, A-2, B-1 style format. There are important objects, such as the Clinic and Mackinac Fort labeled on the map too, so you should know where you are at all times. And lastly is your weapon (she pulled a small knife out of the bag). Each weapon is totally random! That way, the boys won't have an advantage over the girls or vice versa. Looks like I got a knife in this one!"  
'So this is it,' thought Dono. 'This is no horrible joke. It's all real; they're really going to have us kill each other. But how… how could I kill someone? I've never shot a gun in my life… but I may have to… to protect Sara.'  
"I forgot to mention one slight detail," said Ms. Prok. "If no one dies for 24 hours, then guess what? All of your collars will explode."  
Dono could have sworn he heard the word 'dammit' from the back of the classroom, but he was too stunned at Ms Prok's words to even care. This was all real, and they would make sure someone would kill. It's all too obvious. Even if everyone got in a big group, if they weren't able to do anything for 24 hours one person would crack and start killing others. It made it all too impossible to escape.  
"And that's not the last collar rule," said Ms. Prok. "There's a 3 day time limit. If one person isn't left after 3 days then everyone's collar will explode."  
Dono's eye twitched. Anger boiled from his stomach, rising up to his mouth. He wanted to scream at Ms. Prok, torture her, kill her in the most horrible and unruly ways. This game was happening, and only one could live.  
If there was one presiding emotion then it would be terror. They'd dropped the final bomb. Everyone in here knew that they would die sometime in the next 72 hours. Everyone was anxiously looking around, looking to see who would actually play the game.  
And that's when someone took a valiant stand.  
"I hate you!" screamed Steven( Boy No. 15). He charged at Ms. Prok, his short legs pumping unnaturally fast.. As he jumped up on the desk which Ms. Prok stood behind two soldiers pushed him to the floor. He landed on his back which made a sick crunching sound.  
Ms. Prok walked up to him with a small remote. "You know," she said, "You should really learn to take anger management. Stuff like that could get you killed in some places."  
And then Ms. Prok gave the most horrible grin Dono had ever seen. Mrs. Prok's teeth were bared, her nostrils were like slits, and her eyes narrowed at Steven.  
_"This is one of those places."_  
She hit a button on the remote. Steven's collar gave off a small beep, followed by another small beep.  
He immediately got up. "What's happening?!?" he yelled.  
Dono observed the collar. With each beeping noise, a small red light flashed on the LCD screen. The beeps were getting faster, building in tempo, and the red light kept up in speed with it.  
"Someone help me!" he screamed. He was running around the room frantically, screaming swear words.  
"Someone stop this!" he said as he ran into various students, who simply pushed him away from them. Dono looked away as he realized there was nothing they could do. At this point the beeping was so fast he couldn't count it.  
Someone shrieked as the beeping momentarily stopped.  
Without warning the beep turned into one long continuous ring, and the LCD panel on the collar lit up red. Steven yelled as loud as he could and charged at Ms. Prok. He jumped up on the desk; put his foot back to kick her in the head, and the collar exploded.

**29 students remaining**

**4**

Dono had already turned away before the collar erupted, but he heard something large crash to the floor followed by the splattering sound of liquid. He was too afraid to open his eyes, too afraid to sniff the air that had been tainted with the very crimson of someone he had been standing next to just a few seconds ago. Someone gagged in the back of the room, and he heard the sound of vomit splashing against the floor. A girl screamed and several people ran to the back of the room. The shuffling of feet seemed distant - the shock of Steven's death was just too much. Dono heard the sound of liquid steadily pouring onto the hard wood floor.  
"Well that's not good," said Ms. Prok. "I'm not supposed to kill before the game has even started yet. Oh well."  
With the explosion of Steven's collar, the game had officially begun.  
"So," began Ms. Prok, "seeing as a boy has died, it kinda makes it unfair doesn't it? There are more girls than boys…" Several soldiers ran into the room and grabbed the chunk of Steven's head that was leaking blood on the other end of the room. They stuffed it into a black bag and exited the room.  
Ms. Prok took the pistol out from its holster and pointed it once again at Angie.  
"You wanted to die, didn't you?" she said.  
Angie glared at her. Then she charged. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the cramped room as she sprinted towards Ms. Prok's strong figure.  
"I'm gonna kill you, you bitch!"  
Dono watched as a figure leaped across the room and stopped in front of Angie. It was Caroline, and she put her arms in front of Angie. Angie screeched to a halt before knocking Caroline to the ground.  
"She'll kill you too," Caroline said.  
Angie replied, "I won't let her get away with this."  
"She'll kill you," repeated Caroline. Angie's facial expression changed to dismay and then to understanding as he stared at Caroline.  
"She just killed him," she said.  
"She may have killed him," began Caroline, "but she hasn't killed you. Don't let her do that, Angie. Don't give her an excuse to kill someone else."  
Caroline grabbed Angie's arm and pulled her away. The two walked to the back of the room. Angie turned and glared at Ms. Prok one more time.  
"Well," said Ms. Prok, "Unless any boy objects, I won't kill a girl."  
No one objected.  
"Now please, watch the video," she yawned, as if all the blood and destruction were boring her.  
Sammy Dwyer continued, "I'm going to call your names one by one, every two minutes. You'll then grab a daypack off the rack and head outside. We're in a school, which is marked on the grid in the map you will all receive in your bags. Twenty minutes after the last person leaves the school it becomes a danger zone. So no loitering!"  
At this point, the small door opened and several soldiers walked in with a wheelie cart. It was loaded with the same daypacks that were in the video. They stopped near the doorway and stood with their arms at their sides on either side of the cart.  
"Zach, Boy No. 1," said Sammy. Zach didn't move.  
"On the double!" shouted Ms. Prok. Zach slowly made his way to the front of the classroom. Everyone watched him as he grabbed a daypack off the top of the big pile. His last move was to turn back and look at all of them. His face was completely white. He gave a slight smile and then he ran off out the doorway.  
"There goes our first loser," smirked Ms. Prok.  
Two minutes past, and Olivia was called. She strode up to the front of the classroom, her hair bouncing on her shoulders. The headband she had perched on her head was off balance. She took a daypack and waved at the group before running down the hall.  
"Boy No .2, Brandon."  
Brandon strode to the front of the classroom and grabbed a daypack. He didn't turn around and look at the group, or do anything of the sort. He just simply strode out the door. Dono could see that he was shaking. You'd have to be crazy to not be shaking.  
"Girl No. 2, Sara."  
Dono looked at Sara. She was completely terrified, and her eyes began to well up with tears.  
"Go," he said.  
"Dono… I'm scared," she said in a small voice, knowing that there was nothing she could really do.  
Dono put his head on her shoulder and whispered to her, "I'll meet up with you Sara, some how, some way."  
She nodded ran towards the front of the classroom. Dono felt her hand slip out of his.  
_Is this the last time I see you, Sara?_  
Sara looked back at him once before she left the room. He could have sworn she gave him the faintest smile, but it was probably his imagination playing tricks on him.  
"Boy No. 3, Connor H."  
Connor H walked to the front of the room, his blonde hair falling over his eyes. He definitely had a good chance; though small, he looked well built and fit. Giving a small wave, he grabbed a green bag and sprinted out the door. Dono heard his footsteps get farther and farther away as he ran out of the school.  
"Girl No. 3, Mckenzie."  
Mckenzie was definitely a tall girl, one who currently had her light brown hair bundled in a pony tail. She staggered to the front of the room and grabbed a daypack. Small tears were dripping from her eyes, and she did a good job to not let anyone see them.  
"Come on girl, don't cry," said Ms. Prok. "You never know - games can be fun." Unfortunately, she didn't do a very good job hiding them from Ms. Prok.  
Dono sighed at the horrible comment. He never knew someone could be so cruel.  
Mckenzie ran out of the room with her bag on her shoulder. Just like Brandon, her footsteps slowly faded away as she ran away from the cramped classroom. Two minutes dragged past.  
"Boy No. 4, Andy."  
Andy moved his arms widely as he strode to the front of the classroom. He seemed to be trying to act cool - which was a foolish mistake. Anybody could tell he was scared stiff. Anybody could tell because 'anybody' was in the same boat. 'Anybody' was on an island forced to kill each other till one was left. 'Anybody' was the students.  
Andy grabbed the bag and turned to look at the group.  
"Let me tell you all one thing," he said. "If you think any of us are going to play, then you've already lost."  
When Dono first heard this, he thought that Andy was talking to the soldiers and Ms. Prok- telling them we weren't going to play. But then he realized Andy was talking to his classmates. He was right, if you think others are going to play then you've already fallen into the government's trap. Playing the game would be ridiculous - no one would do it. Andy made the right choice in telling everyone this before he exited the room. Dono only hoped that the other members would catch on to what he was saying.  
The ticking clock in the back of the room counted to 120, and the next name was called.  
"Girl No.4, Lauren."  
"Here!" she shouted, raising her hand. Then she half ran, half stumbled to the front of the room and grabbed a bag. She took off at lightning speed and Dono heard her trip and fall before getting up to carry on with her mad dash.  
"Boy No. 5, Nick."  
Nick seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He looked as if he had played this game before. Ms. Prok caught on to this and commented "Hey, you would have a chance unless you listen to Andy, because if everyone listens to Andy than no one will play. That just means you'll have to wait for 24 hours before your head gets blown off!"  
'_Dammit_,' thought Dono. 'She knows that under the pressure of the 24 hour limit, someone will end up killing. This is as much a _psychological_ game as it is _physical strength_!'  
"Girl No. 5, Aubrey."  
Aubrey walked up to the front, trying to pull her skirt down. She looked extremely uncomfortable. Grabbing a bag she ran from the classroom; just as many before her had also done.  
"Boy No. 6, Alejandro."

Alejandro was muttering something under his breath as he crept up to get his back. Something could be heard about "mindless imbeciles", but everyone else was to terrified out of their wits to make any comment.

"Girl No. 6, Laura"  
'So Laura is number 6…' thought Dono. Laura, with a skinny build and blonde hair, spat on the floor before walking up and grabbing a bag. She may have looked to be a wimp, but her attitude told you the exact opposite.  
She turned to Ms. Prok, "Thanks a lot."  
She had a commanding, powerful, absolutely terrifying voice that sent chills down Dono's spine. Then she casually walked out the door. She didn't care if she was falling into the government's trap - Laura looked like she was here to play. Laura was girl number 6, which meant Boy No. 7 was coming out soon. But which number was he?  
"Boy No. 7, Dono."  
Dono looked up at the sound of his name, and then realized he was being called. His legs felt like jelly as he walked up to grab a bag. The handle was nice and soft, and the green bag was made of burlap. Looking back at his classmates, he shook his head with a straight mouth. Only 3 yards away was the face up body of Steven. The foul stench of blood hit his nostrils like a wall as he looked at the young boy. Wanting to get away from the horrible sight, he turned and left.  
The hallway he was in was deserted, and he began to walk towards the door at the far end. There were doors to his left and right, and looking inside them he saw soldiers sitting at desks and chairs. They were all heavily armed. Another room gave him a view of several computers and other assorted high-tech equipment. A radar portrayed various red dots on what looked like a map of the island. The radar stretched the entire section of a wall, and each red dot had a number in it. He could see dots of people numbers one through six moving away from the school, and in the square marked 'school' was his number, seven. In one section of the square were a bunch of numbers and red dots grouped together - presumably the other students who had yet to leave.  
Dono turned and continued to walk through the school's hallway. Another room showed him several girls sitting on a bed together. 'Wonder what's going on in there,' he thought.  
Not stopping, he reached the door to the outdoors relatively quickly. As soon as he stepped out of the door, the game would begin. Someone could be there with a gun right now. And this wasn't a silly video game. He couldn't collect coins to have more lives. He couldn't level up to the next level and regain all his strength. No… this was a different type of game.  
He opened the door and entered the Battle.

_Life is a game. So fight for survival, and see if you're worth it._


	5. Chapter 5

**29 students remaining**

**5**

"Girl No. 7, Shelby."  
Taylor watched as yet another girl ran out the door. When would it be his turn to be called?  
"Boy No. 8, Joe."  
Joe walked up to the front and grabbed a bag. He walked out the room with stiff legs. Taylor's stomach rumbled. He was hungry - and what time was it - 1 AM?

"Girl No.8, Lexie"

Lexie ran up to the front of the room and grabbed her bag, looked suspiciously at the remaining students, and then vomited on the floor. She was obviously embarrassed, and smiled, shaking, at her fellow students before breaking out into a run down the hallway.

"Boy No. 9, Chris"

When Chris grabbed his bag, Ms. Prok said, "Don't fart out there. Some people might just want to kill you for it."  
Chris just ran off.  
Girl No. 9, Amanda, Boy No. 10, Ferris, and Girl No. 10 Gabby, all left in a steady stream.

"Boy number 11 was Steven, but I don't think he'll be needing a day pack." Sammy Dwyer said and giggled in her annoying voice.

Then Girl No. 11 was called.  
"Girl No. 11, Angie."  
Angie casually walked to the front of the room and literally ripped a bag from the rack. Then she turned to Mr. Prok.  
"You better watch your back, Ms. Prok. I'm coming for you."  
Ms. Prok simply laughed, "You? Come for me? This will be a danger zone twenty minutes after the last person leaves. There are soldiers all over the place - and in this room too."  
"Yeah," said Angie, "But what if I was to walk into that hallway, open my pack, find a gun and then walk in here and shoot you? The government wouldn't care. To them you're just as dispensable as we are." Ms. Prok's face tightened up. She said slowly, "Get out of this room now, or I'll blow your head off."  
"Not got a better response?" Angie laughed.  
"Get out!" roared Ms. Prok, grabbing the remote as a makeshift threat. Angie just shrugged and walked out the door.  
"Boy No. 12, John."  
John ran up and grabbed a bag. He threw it at Ms. Prok and ran out the door. "That was… unexpected," she said, rolling her eyes.  
Without notice he stormed back in and grabbed another daypack off the rack, looking rather embarrassed.  
"I'll, uh, just take this one," he stuttered before turning and running out of the door again.  
"Girl No. 12, Brittany."

Taylor heard Brittany mutter 'for you Joe, my greatest love' before grabbing her bag and exiting through the small doorway. She didn't mean the Joe in the class, but the Joe she obsessively fawned over who was a Disney Channel Star all over Hollywood. He found it a bit weird that she was in love with a famous person.

As she walked out of the door, he knew he must be one of the few last people to leave. There were only a few people left standing in the room, six to be exact, and he was either Boy 13, 14, or 15.  
"Boy No. 13, Connor M," said Sammy Dwyer.

Connor walked up and grabbed a bag. He gave a spiteful look at Ms. Prok before leaving.  
"Girl No. 13, Chelsea."  
Chelsea walked up and grabbed her bag - the once large pile of daypacks had been diminished to just a few left. Taylor knew then that if he wasn't Boy No. 14, he'd be the last or second to last person to leave the room. Possibly the last to get a daypack, and he hoped the last to die, even if it meant killing others. That's right - Taylor knew then he'd play the game to win. He had to kill… he had to see his parents. He was smart, he'd go to a good college, have ten kids with the most beautiful woman ever…  
Eric (Boy No. 14) and Aly (girl No. 14) were called up, but Taylor didn't notice as he was consumed by evil thoughts. He was going through only the first stage of spiraling into the darkness of 'the game.' It was part of the government's trap, first scaring you, then herding you before finally turning you insane and forcing you to play the game.  
'They'll kill me all,' thought Taylor. 'If I don't kill them first, they'll come for me. I just know it, for sure. I just know it. There's no doubt, they'll all go for me, all! Everyone one of them, every single one!'  
"Boy No. 15, Taylor ."  
Taylor looked around to see he was the only one left in the room. He must have completely missed the leaving of Girl No. 15, which he presumed was Caroline. Running up he grabbed a bag and ran into the hall. He could see a door. He ran up to it and grabbed the brass doorknob. Opening it he breathed his first fresh air in hours.  
He was standing on a rural street. It was lined with shops with large glass display cases. The stores ranged in color from pink to yellow to light blue. Lamps shone bright light, which small flies buzzed around, illuminating the black sky.  
"Go to hell."  
Taylor didn't hear the whooshing sound, but felt the blow against his head. He fell forward onto his front with a loud grunt. His day pack flew from his hand and landed only a few feet away. He coughed and blood came pouring from his mouth, making a frothy pile on the pavement in front of him.  
Turning around he saw Alejandro standing tall and holding a cricket bat.  
"Hello," said Alejandro. Taylor stared in horror at him. Alejandro was out to kill him! No, everyone! He could see their faces now, all closing in on him and beating his brains out. That's right… he had to kill… his daypack! Taylor reached for his daypack and ripped it open. But a blow against his elbow stopped him short. Pain seared up his arm as he looked to see his elbow bending in the completely wrong direction. Warm liquid matted his hair from the blow to his head, and he felt like he was losing blood at a fast rate. White bone that shone in the light of the lamp was protruding from his skin.  
"I got this cricket bat," said Alejandro. "At first I thought it was a piece of crap, but it looks like it's done me some good."  
Taylor felt another blow to his head and found himself facing up. The sky was pitch black… or maybe he had his eyes closed. Then Alejandro filled his vision - he knew it wasn't his eyelids.  
'_Is this a dream?_' he thought. 'Am I going to wake up all of a sudden and find out everything's okay?'  
His head was lying in a warm liquid. He knew what it was, but was more preoccupied with the psycho with the cricket bat over his head.  
Alejandro raised the blunt weapon above his head; poised to smash in Taylor's face.  
"No," choked Taylor.  
"What was that?" asked Alejandro.  
"No…"   
"Sorry, I don't speak idiot."  
Taylor had always wished that his last thoughts would be of his family - maybe a favorite memory of them. It could have been Christmas when he opened his presents and found a PS2 inside. It could have been when he had his first kiss in a school dance during 7th grade. There were other things, spending time with his pets - anything.  
But none of these things were his last thoughts. He watched as Alejandro brought the cricket bat down. He heard it smash his face, but that was his last he heard. The last feeling he felt was incredible pain and his eyes went black.  
But his last thought, of all the things he could have been thinking of at the time, was 'oops.' 


	6. Chapter 6

**28 students remaining**

**6**

Caroline walked out of the school to find a street that looked like it belonged in the 1800s. An empty horse wagon lay to her right, and various antique shops were spaced apart down the length of the road. Turning around, she found herself staring out at a dark mass of water. There were lights in the distance - presumably the light of the lower peninsula of Michigan. 'No escaping to there,' she thought as she saw the looming shadow of a guard boat silhouetted across the mainland lights.  
"Caroline?" the voice was barely audible as the wind picked up speed and made a loud whistling noise. She looked to see Olivia, her daypack slung over her shoulder, come out of the shadows of a light pink building.   
"Olivia!" she said. She ran up to her and hugged her.  
"I'm so scared," she moaned. "I feel like I'm going to wake up from a horrible nightmare."  
"This is no nightmare," said Caroline. "Let's get out of here."  
She sprinted down the street, holding her hand. Going right, she found herself passing a grassy field with a big stone statue of a man in the center of it. A fortress of mammoth proportions was up on the hillside. She kept running, past more homes and what looked to be a 'butterfly museum.' The lack of activity - plus the darkness - made the island even more eerie as the pair rounded a bend.  
They passed a mini-golf course and the 'Mission Point' hotel. Across the road from the hotel was a clutter of trees, which Caroline dragged Olivia into.  
They both put their daypacks on the dirt floor.  
"This can't be real," said Olivia. Her face was an unhealthy shade of white.  
"It's real; all of it," said Caroline. "Let's check out our weapons."  
Caroline unzipped Olivia's daypack. She pulled out a map, compass and pen - plus a list of all the students. The map was incredibly detailed, with popular tourist locations noted and the like. Next was some bread and water. Caroline nibbled the bread. It was stale and tasted like crap. No surprise.  
Olivia's weapon was a sickle. It gleamed in the moonlight as Caroline examined it. The blade was clean - the weapon was brand new.  
"This is probably a lucky weapon to get," she claimed.  
"I don't want it," said Olivia.  
"What?" asked Caroline.  
"I don't want it. I don't want to play this game."  
"So if you get attacked, you'll simply let yourself die? You won't fight for your own life, even if it's someone who you've had a grudge against for ages?"  
"Well, no, but… I would never feel comfortable having that on me."  
"You have to take it Olivia; you have to take it so you have some sort of self defense. You can't wander around this island without some sort of weapon." Olivia , hearing Caroline's words of advice, took the weapon and stuck the handle down the back of her skirt.  
"Let's see what you got," she said. Caroline picked up his bag and unzipped it. She took out the map and water, the familiar stale hard bread, and finally, her weapon.  
"Damn."  
Caroline was holding a Smith & Wesson pistol. The handle was made of metal, as well as the chamber. A clip of twelve bullets was inside his bag as well. She immediately put them in the gun.  
"Well, I can say for sure that this one's lucky."  
The way she said it was almost comical.  
"We've only got 12 bullets," said Olivia . "Which obviously means only twelve shots. Hopefully we won't have to kill anyone with them." But as she said this, she had the feeling that they'd be using the gun for killing. It was the way of the game.  
"I wonder who else has come out?" asked Caroline to no one in particular. She wondered what their weapons were, shivering at some of the horror of her own thoughts.  
There was a rustling behind her.  
Caroline's hands went numb as she pulled back on the pistol and pointed it left and right. Olivia had her hand on the handle of the sickle.  
"Did you hear that?" asked Caroline.  
"Yeah," said Olivia.  
The rustling was heard again.  
_Meow._  
A small black cat with wide yellow eyes came out of the bushes, shaking off its fur.  
"Oh," said Olivia. "It's just a cute cat. Come here, kitty!"  
The small cat hopped into Olivia's arms and she began to pet him. Caroline watched as she touched noses with the kitten and giggled.  
They say the speed of a bullet coming out of a gun is faster than the speed of sound. Caroline learned this was true as dirt sprayed up around her and Olivia. Milliseconds later they heard the chilling sound of a typewriter's keys rattling at an intense speed.  
"Run!" shouted Caroline. She pushed up Olivia and the two stumbled out of the grove. A shadowy figure burst out of the tree line. She was holding a sub-automatic pistol; the same thing as an uzi. The chilling typewriter-like sound fell over the serene island again as more bullets pelted the road Caroline and Olivia were running down.  
Caroline turned and fired her gun once. She saw the shadowy figure duck and then continue running.   
'Crap,' she thought. 'Who the hell is that? I don't want to die here!'  
She turned a sharp corner and found herself running up a concrete driveway toward the entrance of the Mission Point hotel. Then an idea occurred to her.  
"Get ready," she said to Olivia, who had slowed down, pulling her along.  
She fired the pistol twice, two bullets into the huge glass windows of the hotel. Glass splintered and went in different directions as the bullets pierced the frame of the window. With Olivia not far behind, Caroline leaped through the broken frame and landed inside the hotel.

_The game of life and death ___

  
The two found themselves in a giant lobby, made of mostly wood. Furniture was set nicely around the room, and a beautiful fire burned in an oriental fireplace. But the beautiful scene was shattered as fluff flew from the pillows of the chairs and a gas lamp exploded above Caroline's head (sending glass and oil everywhere) as nine millimeter bullets showered the massive lobby. One of the chairs lit on fire, and like dominoes the whole lobby started up in flames. Fire burned the walls of the brilliant room and spread to the carpet. 

_The game lost by time ___

  
'Crap,' thought Caroline. 'If I stay here, I'm going to be killed before the game even starts. This whole place is going up in flames!'  
She and Olivia ran down a hallway. She could hear the pounding footsteps of her pursuer not far behind her. More bullets shattered the very air itself. Wood and plaster flew from the walls and doors of various hotel rooms.  
'Who is this insane guy?!?'  
They found themselves in a white hallway, with doors than said '101, 102, 103' emblazoned in gold. Looking to the left, he saw some stairs that led up to the second floor. She charged up these and found two more branching hallways. They both looked the same - which was no surprise to Caroline. She took the right one.

_The safety of trust and alliance ___

  
Olivia was glad she had the comfort of Caroline with her. Plus, she had a gun (she really hoped she wouldn't have to use the sickle. She hoped she'd never have to see someone in the game be killed… but it may be inevitable). She looked back but Caroline instantly turned a corner before she was able to see their pursuer. The uzi she was holding came into her sight before she was yanked away. They carried on down a long hallway until they hit another area. There were some carpeted stairs leading down to the blazing first floor and another long hallway to their left.

_No longer exist ___

  
"Go down there," said Caroline, pointing towards the stairs. "Take the gun, and I'll take the sickle. I should be able to distract him long enough for you to get away." Olivia gave her the sickle and took the gun - she really hoped she didn't have to use it. But to kill this murderous freak that was chasing after them; maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all. She quickly dismissed the thought.  
"I'll go," she said firmly. With Caroline around, she was starting to gain more confidence. Caroline was her best friend; it was almost like being at home. But not quite.  
Running down the stairs, she saw that almost the whole first floor was up in flames. A wooden barrier fell from the ceiling and crashed to the floor sending flames billowing over ornaments and furniture. Sparks erupted from the carpet and several tables lit on fire. She ran, covering her eyes from the smoke as she went towards the nearest doors. She burst outside and kept running until she was at least twenty yards away. Turning back, she saw flames licking from the open windows of the first floor. Smoke curled in tendons from the windows and she felt worried for Caroline's safety.

_The blood bath of the Battle___

  
Caroline ran down the long hall and turned to see the fearless assailant at the end of the hallway. The machine gun rattled and Caroline felt pain cut through her leg. A small metal object, presumably a bullet, was sticking out from her calf. Blood leaked from the excruciatingly painful wound, and she used the sickle from Olivia's daypack in one clean swipe to knock the bullet out of her calf muscle. A bit of bloody flesh went with it, but it was no matter to her now. Escaping was the main deal. More chilling rattling noise echoed through the hotel and the assailant was upon her once again.

_1 killer __  
29 broken spirits_

  
Caroline took this moment to view her assailant. At the end of the hallway, she saw a skinny figure loading a new magazine into the uzi. Caroline was shocked to see who it was, standing there with bony forearms and light eyebrows.  
"No."  
It was Laura.  
Caroline coughed and she realized black smoke was curling up from under the carpet. 'The fire!' crossed her mind and she knew she had to get out fast, so she turned and ran.

_How do you live in a place of instinct? ___

  
The white hallway abruptly ended at a balcony overlooking some stairs. Caroline contemplated her options. She could run down the long stairs and take an extra amount of time - possibly letting Laura catch her and plug her brains out with the uzi - or he could take the risk of jumping down the balcony and get a heads up on Laura. She decided to take the latter, and landed with a painful grunt. Pain stabbed through her wounded leg. Her legs crumpled on the ground as she landed, but she paid no mind to the searing pain in her calf muscle as she saw flames enveloping the whole area in front of her. It was an area that led to the lobby, and the intense heat made her instinctively shut her eyes. A corridor to her right was untouched by flame, so she ran down it.

_Driven by hatred ___

  
Laura saw Caroline go over the railing of the balcony.  
'Smart girl,' she thought. 'But I'm not stupid. I can do sweet secret agent moves too.' Laura ran up to the balcony and jumped. Her feet planted against the far wall and she pushed off, firing herself towards the bottom of the stairs. She rolled as she hit the ground and looked to see Caroline rushing down a corridor. Unlike Caroline, she felt no pain as she did this - completely driven by hatred. A wall of flames was in front of her, and she ignored them as she fired over 250 bullets a minute at Caroline. She didn't make contact, but wood chips shredded and flew all over the place as she hit the walls.

_Or the will to live on __  
Living _

  
Caroline realized she was back in the main lobby, which gave off a sweltering and unbearable heat. She had to get outside.  
"Hello."  
Caroline n turned, sweating dripping from her face in buckets, to see Laura standing with the uzi pointed straight at her.  
Caroline was too stunned to speak, but managed to give a small squeak.  
"You know," said Laura. "I have the ability to win this game."  
Caroline just stared at her. It was true; she was at the beck and call of Laura right now. The amazing gun was pointed straight at her, and Caroline's pistol was limp at his side.  
"So now I shall decide… do I play?" smiled Laura.  
Caroline watched as Laura pulled the water bottle out of her bag. She squeezed it as hard as she could until it burst open, sending water everywhere. Caroline was stunned at Laura's upper body strength.  
"So I flipped a coin. Heads; I play this game. Tails; I fight back against Ms. Prok."  
Caroline already knew the answer.  
"It was heads."  
As Laura was about to pull the trigger, a loud explosion sounded from above her.

_Brings only the pain __  
That you have destroyed_

  
A large wooden beam fell from the ceiling, showering sparks and splinters throughout the lobby. Caroline observed as if she was watching an action movie. It was one of those parts where it goes into slow motion and something crazy happens. In this case, the crazy part was a wooden beam landing right next to Laura. Sparks flew into her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Caroline took the opportunity to run.

_The only thing __  
That is important now_

  
Caroline knew her priorities and her main focus now was to get the hell out of there. She peered around to see two large wooden doors, which she immediately ran to. There was a gold metal push bar on the front, which burnt her hands as she grabbed it. Taking off her white polo shirt that all the girls were wearing,(luckily they had white camisoles under it as well) she wrapped it round her hands and opened the door. There was a small room beyond it, and then more double doors. She burst through these to breath in fresh air; a long sought after feeling.

_is Life_

Caroline was knocked to the pavement as an explosion shook the ground. Shee turned around to see a horrific sight; a humongous fireball that lit up the sky. The massive explosion engulfed the whole hotel. She cleared her eyes and went onto her hands and knees. In front of her was a massive wall of flame. Scared out of her mind, she turned and charged away from the inferno. Running, he saw Olivia moving toward the exit of the hotel. The two met up and ran off, Caroline pulling on her shirt. The fireball made the island seem as if it was in daylight for only a few moments. But Caroline was too preoccupied with getting out of the hotel's general vicinity.  
The hotel was a gleaming ball of light and fire in the sky, and it could be seen from anywhere on the island. Caroline didn't know if Laura was dead or not, but it was obvious that the fireball should have killed her, easily. But he had learned that Laura was a moving powerhouse with all parts working and well-oiled.  
Back at the hotel, a figure, covered in soot, rose from the flaming debris. Holding an uzi, her figure was just a silhouette against the bright flames.  
Laura spat to the side and cursed. Caroline had got away, and taken a whole hotel with her. Laura only sighed; if she was the only one playing this game, then so be it.  
It was time to hunt more members.

**28 members remaining**


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Sara (Girl No. 2) had left the school and immediately went to Mackinac Fort, which was only about 400 yards away. She climbed the steep slope to its massive wooden doors and walked inside. The fort was full of old wooden buildings, and 12 meter walls made of stone encircled the entire area. Across the fort was a building with a steeple, and Sara noticed a little opening at the top; perfect for sitting in and observing the game.  
She'd always been good at rock climbing; it was one of her favorite hobbies. But as she slung her daypack over her shoulder and set her sights on the alcove, she knew she was in for something huge. Hand over hand; she pulled herself up using loose bricks and holes in the wall.  
_Ratatatata._  
The noise had come from outside the fort. Sara slipped and fell a few feet but managed to grab onto a brick. Rocks tumbled down from the steeple, bouncing off her head and falling to the ground. 'That was a close one,' she thought. There was more of the speedy, shrill noise, and then one loud 'bang'. Sara realized she was hearing the sounds of guns being shot. The game had officially begun. Fear tightened in her mind as she realized these gunshots could mean some of her friends were dying. More gunfire was heard and she decided it would be best to live in the present - at least while she was playing this game.  
She managed to reach the small alcove before the real action started. Sitting in the alcove, she opened her bag to see food, water, a map and compass and finally a pair of binoculars.  
"Binoculars?" she asked herself. "I guess this can be handy…"  
Then she realized that the binoculars didn't come in everyone's daypack. This was her 'random' weapon. 'You must be kidding me?' she thought. 'What am I supposed to do with these stupid binoculars, strangle someone with the attached string? Beat someone to death with them? These are utter pieces of crap!'  
There was more shrill machine gun fire and she peered through her binoculars in the direction of the noise. The binoculars were amazing - she could see a figure dart into a building. Checking her map, she realized this was the 'Mission Point' hotel.  
An orange glow emanated from the windows of the hotel's first floor. Sara watched as flames began to exit the windows, curling into the sky like the tongues of demons. The night itself was pitch black - she could have fallen asleep with her eyes open and the night would act as her eyelids. But the flames gave off a glow which lit up the area.  
For sure there were 2 people in there, one who had gone in first and the other that had followed him. She wasn't sure who else there was until she saw a small girl in the familiar skirt and top standing outside the hotel.  
"Get out of there!" screamed Sara.  
Then there was a loud crash, and not 10 seconds after the sky that could have once been your eyelids whilst sleeping turned into a vivid canvas of red and orange. Sara gaped as for about 3 seconds, it was daylight. She could see everything on the island - the mysterious Grand Hotel, some streets down by the school, fudge shoppes, looming buildings; everything. The sky was as light as day, but with more of a twilight effect.  
Darkness came again as Sara watched a massive fireball extend at least 40 meters into the sky. From her high, cramped perch, the fireball even rose above Sara's head. (Keep in mind she was in the steeple of a building in Mackinac Fort, which was on top of a massive hill.)  
The gigantic raging ball seemed to lick the air itself and grew bigger and bigger. Eventually it dispersed, and sparks began to rain from the sky.  
Sara felt a choking in her throat - she thought she was about to cry. As far as her guesswork went, someone must have died in that fireball. It was ridiculously huge - words couldn't even explain how large it was. She hoped Donovan wasn't in there. She needed him for protection. As far as her hopes went, Dono would also come to this massive fort. Then the two could band together and try and figure out something to do. Her mind snapped back to the dangers of the game. Focus was the key; without it she would die. When daylight came, her perch in the church's steeple would no longer become a very safe place to be. With simple math she figured that if she was to sit there for all three days, the top of the fort would eventually become a danger zone. And if that was to happen…  
She fingered the collar strapped around her neck and began to lose hope.  
They were trapped in this horrible game. And there was no way out. Even if she sat for hours trying to formulate a plan, she doubted she'd come up with anything useful. The crap eating government had covered everything, whether it be escaping by water or blowing up the school.  
Sara would sit all night, until the moon set and the sun rose, just so she could be there in the morning. She hoped to observe something from up here, and hopefully it wouldn't be picked as a danger zone any time soon, so she fell asleep. 


	8. Chapters 8 and 9

**28 students remaining**

**8**

Shelby (Girl No. 7) exited the school to immediately set down her pack and take out her map. It was time to use logical thinking - she guessed most people would head toward the Fort, so she would instead go left toward the 'Grand Hotel.' (The largest hotel in the world.)  
She picked up her pack and hurried left to find a yellow house with its front door wide open. She decided she could hide in there, but first she'd check her bag.  
Her random weapon seemed to be razorwire - an extremely thin and sharp wire that could make easy clean cuts with the gentlest pressure. It was an extremely deadly weapon if used in the right way. Shelby decided that she'd use it in that 'right way.'  
Walking into the house, she strung the wire across the doorway at about neck height. That way, if someone tried to get into the house they would walk right into the wire and hopefully die. It was her only way of knowing true safety while she was in the house. The wire was so thin that the person ('hopefully,' she thought) wouldn't notice it, and it would ('hopefully') cut their neck open as they walked through. It would be an instant death.  
After stringing up the wire she moved to the kitchen. She set her bag on the table, and viewed her map. The island was full of odd tourist attractions, such as the Butterfly Museum and Arch Rock, and home to the largest hotel in the world. Mackinac Fortress lay on top of a massive hill not too far away ('I bet there'll be a lot of fighting going on there,' thought Shelby).  
"Hey, who's there?"  
Shelby went into freak out mode and started screaming. She waved her arms wildly and ran around the room. Someone else was already in the house.  
"Shut up!" said the voice. But as much as the voice said it Shelby kept screaming.

Andy (Boy No. 4) was hiding in a kitchen cabinet when he heard footsteps echoing in the kitchen. At first he was petrified - but his supplied weapon was a vicious Colt .348, which came with 10 bullets. He gained confidence immediately at his awesome weapon.  
But what Ms. Prok was doing was outrageous and ridiculous. He wouldn't play this game; he'd find some way to find a way out of it. But it was when he heard the footsteps and whispered, "Hey, who's there?" that he had made his first mistake.

There are three types of mistakes.

a - the mistakes you make on tests

b - the mistakes you make when you ask a girl to homecoming

c - a very tremendous, unique kind of mistake; one you do not ever want to make.

Type A: Sweat rolled off of Jimmy's brow as he sat in a metal chair. It was missing a little knob on the back right leg, and the chair would tip to the side as he moved around. He was staring at the final exam of his biology class. One question in particular was bothering him. The question read:

23. A population is…  
A. The amount of money a government makes each year  
B. Many biological communities rolled into one ecosystem  
C. The amount of people killed in the Rwandan genocide  
D. A large dog

Jimmy was unable to answer the question. Sitting next to him was Becca, the smartest girl in class. He knew that she would manage to get 100 on the exam, so he decided to look at her paper. As soon as his eyes slid in her paper's direction, the teacher walked up to him and ripped up his exam.  
"No cheating!" screamed the teacher. "You get an F on the exam, and in this class!"  
Jimmy cried himself to sleep that night.

Type B: Matt wasn't really all that popular in school, he was one of those kids who got good grades but didn't play any sports. He wasn't at all popular with the ladies; in fact, he had no game at all. But for some reason he decided to ask the hottest girl in school - Emma - to the huge school dance; homecoming.  
He approached her as she was standing with her main group of friends (they called themselves the Cat Clique).  
"Can I talk to you, Emma?" he asked in a quiet, shy voice. Emma turned to him and gave him a queer look.  
"Okay…" she said, wondering why this loser was even standing in her vicinity, let alone approaching her and talking to her. She walked over and they moved to the side of the hall.  
"Will you go to homecoming with me?" asked Matt. Emma burst into laughter.  
"You, go with me? You must be joking!" she cackled. Her friends asked her what was going on and she explained that Matt had asked her to homecoming. Everything moved in slow motion for Matt. He hung his head as everyone pointed and laughed at him.  
Matt cried himself to sleep that night.

Type C: Shelby ripped open the cupboards to see Andy sitting in a cramped position. He had a gun. Shelby became freaked out and threw a pot at him. It bruised Andy's arm, but he was able to ignore it. He came out of the cupboard to see Shelby armed with a large cooking pot.  
"Shelby, are you going insane?" asked Andy.  
"Me, insane! You're the one with the gun!" she retaliated.  
She then swung the pot, but Andy was able to duck and dodge. He ran out of the kitchen and up some stairs. The second floor was two rooms big, and he went in the left room. Shelby followed him in. He was trapped.  
"Look, Shelby, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," pleaded Andy.  
A massive explosion rocked the very foundations of the house, causing Shelby to fall over. The sky outside flashed several times. Andy ran and leaped over Shelby's fallen body. His momentum caused him to smash into the wall, but he quickly rounded the doorway and started charging down the stairs down two at a time. He took a right (the kitchen was on the left) and saw the door to the bathroom. Running inside, he locked the door behind him and sat on the toilet, taking a deep breath.  
'What the hell was that humongous explosion?' he thought, looking around at the bathroom. Everything seemed to be a pastel white, from the toilet to the walls. The wallpaper had little pink flowers on it. The delicate touch seemed out of place in this horrible game.  
Andy cried himself to sleep that- no, wait, he didn't.

Three types of mistakes, slightly different consequences.  
Andy soon learned that his trouble was not over as a knife stabbed through the door.  
"I'm gonna kill you!" screamed Shelby from the other side. She stabbed the knife into the door again, ripping a large hole. Wood splintered everywhere and Andy backed against the wall - he could see Shelby's face. Her teeth were gritted and her face was completely red. Her eyes were squinted and her nose was contorted; she looked like a horrible monster. After smashing a big enough hole she reached her arm through it and grabbed the doorknob, unlocking the door.  
It burst open and Andy saw Shelby holding up the knife. Her face twisted with rage and she charged at him.  
Raising the pistol, Andy fired a shot. The bullet pierced Shelby, and she fell back almost immediately. She was clutching her side, and the knife slipped out of her hand. The hand clutching her side was soaked in blood and it seeped through her fingers, dripping onto the floor. She gasped for air, but was still living. He had only pierced the very left side of her body, and the damage he had caused was probably nothing extreme.  
Andy was shocked. He had shot someone, someone who was most likely going to die because of what he had done. His mind went black and his feet took over.  
He ran around Shelby and took a right out of the bathroom. He continued for several feet until he found himself in the living room; and there was the front door. The fresh air from outside filtered into his nostrils. It was his freedom, and he rushed at it with a smile on his face.  
"I'm out of he-"Andy's last view was of him looking up at the moon. Blood ran down his neck and into his shirt. He clasped his hands around the opening but more blood spilled out through the cracks in his fingers. His body tilted forward, hanging from the razorwire, and blood poured onto the ground.  
Shelby crawled into the room. Holding her side, she pulled off her top and wrapped it around her bleeding belly. She lay there for ages, listening to the trickle of liquid that was Andy's blood. Her body, depleted and tired, eventually fell to sleep.

**27 students remaining**

**9**

Angie charged through the woods, barreling through branches and anything that got in her way. She didn't care if someone was following her, she'd be glad. She had to find someone. So far she'd heard the sound of machine gun fire, a pistol, a massive explosion and shortly after a dulled pistol shot - that sounded like it had come from inside of a building or something. But her mind was swimming as she found herself at Arch's Rock.  
The rock jutted out from one edge of a cliff and connected to another end. It was one of the biggest tourist attractions of the island, and Angie had been there when she had visited Mackinac Island last time.   
But she was never going to play this game.  
She dropped her daypack to the ground, it didn't matter what was in it. She was never going to play, no matter what the cost.  
And the only way to make sure she didn't fall into Ms. Prok's trap… was to kill herself.  
Arch Rock was at least 30 meters above a rocky yet grassy hillside. Whether you were to die instantly or break your bones and die of blood loss, the fact of the matter was that she would die if she was to jump down.  
She walked along the usual tourist platform and up onto the rock. It was covered in small tufts of grass and was about 2 feet wide. A breeze made her lose her balance, but she managed to stay on the giant arch. The fall looked dangerous, and she was near the edge of Lake Michigan. But she had made her mind up long ago.  
Taking a deep breath, she readied herself to jump. The drop looked massive, but if she was going to kill himself she wanted to make sure it was instant. 'One,' she counted in her head. 'Two… three!' She swung her arms and was about to jump but stopped abruptly when she heard a cry from behind her.  
"Stop!" cried a voice from behind her.  
She turned around to see one of her best friends - Caroline - standing there with Olivia. Caroline had a gun. At this single moment, hundreds of thoughts crossed Angie's mind, ranging from 'quick, jump!' to 'you've found a friend, now band together!'  
"Don't shoot me!" shouted Angie bagging on complete instinct.  
"I'm not gonna shoot you!" said Caroline, "If you come down from that massive rock."  
Angie immediately came down and walked over to Caroline.  
"I never thought I would see you two," she grinned. "I think I'm gonna have to thank you. I was just about to… jump."  
"I noticed," smiled Caroline. "But you're with us now, and you aren't going anywhere."  
Angie breathed a sigh of relief; there were some people she really trusted standing in front of her. She picked up her bag and started walking off, Caroline and Olivia staying in line.  
"Did you hear that huge explosion?" asked Angie?  
"Did I?" asked Caroline. Olivia frowned.  
"Well, we were kinda the cause of it," she said.  
"Huh?" grunted Angie.  
"Yeah," said Caroline. "Laura has an Uzi. She tried to kill us so we ran to the hotel. Then she lit it on fire and… kaboom."  
"Damn," breathed Angie. "It was so huge; I could see the flames through the trees."  
"It was ridiculously enormous," noted Caroline.  
"And you said it was Laura?" asked Angie.  
"Yeah, it was Laura…" said Olivia. "By the way, have you taken a look at the list of students in your daypack yet? It has all our names and numbers."  
"Actually," replied Angie, "I haven't even looked in my daypack yet."  
Caroline sat down, "Well let's look at it, then!"  
Angie took the daypack off her shoulder and put it on the ground. There was some hard bread and three bottles of water.  
"Not much water," said Caroline. "But I'm sure that if this game ended up lasting for 3 days it'd be enough. There must be wells around here somewhere."  
The moon was still in the sky, although it was getting low. Angie reckoned it was about 4:30 A.M., and Ms. Prok had said the first announcement was at 6 A.M. It would be daylight by then. Caroline was sitting cross-legged, Olivia was on her knees and she was just sort of sitting.  
Next was a map, which she quickly examined to check its credibility.  
"This is a really good map," she said. "I definitely suggest keeping this map with you at all times… it's just so helpful. It even marks a bunch of popular locations. Look, here are us." She pointed to the symbol for 'Arch Rock' and the map.  
"Sweet," said Caroline, "Although we must be a little farther away than that… considering we can't even see the rock anymore." Caroline was right; the rock was now hidden by a deep canopy of trees.  
Angie than examined the compass, which she determined was in fine working condition judging it pointed in the right direction (at least according to the map). A list of the members followed, and she quickly skimmed it.  
"Laura was number 6," she said to Caroline.  
"Yeah," Caroline replied, "I can understand how she snuck up on us like that."  
"Was it long before you took off after you left the school?" asked Angie.  
"Nah," replied Olivia. "Maybe a minute at the most, but Laura looked like she was at peak and prime in her physical condition. It's honestly no wonder that she caught up to us in the end. Or it could be a coincidence we met…"  
"Well, I guess only my random weapon is left," said Angie.  
She reached in and pulled out a small black handle with a tiny switch on it.  
"What the hell is that?" asked Caroline. Angie clicked the switch and a blade swung up and out of the black metal handle.  
"A switchblade!" beamed Angie, excitement filling her blue eyes. "Oh yeah, you guys never told me what your weapons were."  
Caroline and Olivia both held up their weapons. In Caroline's hand seemed to be a Smith & Wesson pistol. Olivia was holding a sickle.  
"I guess we all got lucky!" said Angie, brightly. (Of course, no matter how brightly, happily or joyously anybody spoke; nothing could lighten the mood during such horrible, horrible times. That was the way of the game.)  
"Or maybe not," said Olivia. "For all we know someone could have a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher in their bag."  
Caroline gave her a quizzical look, "Do you really think they could fit a working bazooka into one of these daypacks?" Angie wasn't so sure… the daypacks all did vary in size. But good things do come in small packages…  
Looking up, she noticed that Caroline's leg was bleeding.  
"What happened to your leg?" she asked.  
"I was shot in the leg by Laura," said Caroline. "It wasn't too bad; I was able to ignore the pain. But I'm sure it'll come back to bite me if I don't do something about it."  
Angie peered at her map. Down by the school (all the area around it was now a forbidden zone; the school lay at the bottom of a huge hill. The hill wasn't in the school's danger zone vicinity) was a clinic. It wasn't a danger zone… she thought they could reach it.  
"I have an idea," said Angie. "When the sun rises at about 5: 30, we should be able to get to the clinic in the town around Ms. Prok's 6 AM announcement - in which we will also find out about our… dead classmates."  
Olivia shuffled her feet. Then she asked;  
"Angie, what do you think of this game?"  
Angie just scoffed, "I don't know why we keep calling it a game. Games are usually fun and bring joy. They're meant to take off stress. This counters everything we know as a 'game.' So maybe we should come up with a new name for it?"  
The three sat on the earthen wooded floor, thinking of a new name.  
"How about 'The Game of Which Has No Point'?" smiled Caroline.  
Olivia gave a little laugh and Angie leaned back against a giant oak tree.  
"Fine," she said. "I quite like that name. But to answer your question on what I think of this game…" at this point Angie exhaled deeply.  
"There must be some way to escape; there must be some sort of loophole in the system. These collars, there must be some way to get them off without them exploding. I know that the three of us, banded together, can come up with some kind of way to take down the system."  
"But if we wanted to take down the system, what would we do?" asked Caroline.  
"The school," grinned Angie. Caroline's eyes lit up.  
"Are you saying we shoot at the school?" asked Olivia.  
"Actually," said Angie, "I haven't even thought about it. I was kind of just coming up with stuff on the spot right there."  
Caroline laughed, "But if we could find some supplies to build a bomb…"  
Angie immediately sat up.   
"That's brilliant," she said to Caroline.  
"Um," muttered Caroline, "I kinda just said it on a whim."  
"No, think about it," began Angie. "We could find some supplies at the clinic and build some sort of rolling bomb. Then we could push it down the hill… and boom."  
Olivia also sat up off of her knees at this, "Wow, good thinking! It would probably work too!"  
"We'd have to get lucky," said Caroline. "First we'd have to find loads of supplies which are probably scattered over the island. By the time we have the bomb built; it'll probably be well into the second day."  
"It's worth a shot!" said Olivia, pumping her fist.  
"Calm down!" said Angie. "For all we know, this island might not even have the basic supplies we need to build a bomb."  
"She's right," said Caroline. "We're risking everything with this. Plus, who the hell knows how to build a bomb?"  
"Now, let me ask you a question. What do you think about this game?" Angie asked out of the blue.  
"Well," started Olivia, touching her nose. She took off her headband and put it in her daypack. Her hair fell over her face, and the moon behind her gave her a beautiful contrast to the dark night sky. "If you want me honest opinion, I don't think I could fight in such a game. Most people are probably like me."  
"Not Laura," said Caroline, interrupting her. She looked at him and she said, "Carry on."  
"Anyway," continued Olivia, "I'm sure that I could kill only to save a best friends life or my own. But it would just be so… horrible. I'd prefer not to even think about it. And it looks like we all got good weapons."  
"And let me ask you a question," Angie said, this time looking at Caroline. "How do I know that you're not going to kill me and Olivia the next chance you get?"  
The mild happy feeling in the air immediately switched to tension as Angie said this. Caroline just looked at her, bewilderment all over her face.  
"What makes you think I would do that?"  
"It would only be right to be suspicious of you, Caroline."  
"But why me? What makes me so suspicious? We're friends!"  
"I don't just mean you. I mean that you should be suspicious of everyone."  
"But then how would you be on a team with someone?"  
"You wouldn't be on a team with anyone."  
"But we're in a team right now!"  
"That's why I'm asking you, Caroline, how do I not know that the three of us will gang up together and then when it's only our trio remaining you'll kill us both and be able to go home and see your family again?"  
"Angie, that's insane! Why would you say such a thing?"  
"Why? Because it's the simple truth; that's why."  
Thoughts were swirling in Olivia's head. In this case, Angie was right. How could you really trust anyone? It was sort of like those crazy wrestling matches she watched at home. They were called 'Battle Royale' and it would pit over 10 wrestlers against each other in one ring. You could team up with enemies, friends, foes, anyone, but the person who you thought was your friend one second could be knocking you out the next. Then there were always those moments when two long time tag team partners would have to go against each other in the end. The Battle Royales were insane matches, and definitely the most popular matches of any.  
"I think I've come up with a name for the game," squeaked Olivia, interrupting Angie and Caroline's argument. The two looked at her, waiting for her idea.  
"It's kinda like this wrestling I watch," she started. "I think we should call it 'The Battle Royale."  
"What's a Battle Royale?" asked Caroline.  
"It's when they pit loads of wrestlers against each other in the ring until one is left, it's just like the predicament we're in," said Olivia.  
"Nah," began Angie, "The Battle Royale just isn't right."  
"I think it should be the 210 Royale."  
Olivia heard Caroline breath "Yeah…" but then there was a short silence.  
"It's getting really late," said Angie. "How about you two go to sleep and I'll keep watch until Ms. Prok's announcement?"  
"But how can I trust you?" asked Caroline.  
"I think you're getting the point," smiled Angie. Caroline smiled too.  
Caroline handed Angie the gun and put her head on her daypack. "Goodnight," she said to Olivia. "Goodnight," said Olivia back to her. Then the two fell asleep.  
Angie was with people she could trust, and they had a plan. Her little speech about trust to Caroline was really nothing, because as she sat against a large oak tree and looked at the moon as it was just about to set she thought, 'It's good to have people I can trust.'  
Trust; a risk, but also a blessing. Would it be right to trust his comrades and have them turn on her later, or should she believe that they are here to help?

_"It's good to have people I can trust."_


	9. Chapter 10

**27 students remaining**

**10**

Shelby awoke to the sounds of horns blaring over speakers. She was lying face up in someone's living room. But what was she doing here?  
Sitting up, she felt an intense pain in her side. She looked down to see only her camisole. Her top was wrapped round her belly, soaked dark crimson. Everything came flooding back to her - Mrs. Prok, the game, and last night. 'Actually,' she thought, 'it was kind of last morning. Or… this morning? Ah, my head hurts so much…'  
The horns stopped sounding and a scratchy, metallic voice came over some loudspeakers. It was clearly echoing all over the island, and was coming from giant speakers which must have caused the static tone.  
"Rise and shine, it's time for breakfast!" said a voice, which Shelby quickly related to be Mrs. Prok. It was her all right, in all her twisted, evil glory.  
"How was your first night out? It only gets downhill from here, kids, so get used to it."  
As she said this she said like the annoying Sammy Dwyer from the video.  
"First I'll announce the student deaths and then the danger zones… and remember that this is just the first of many short announcements I'm gonna give out every 6 hours, so always be ready for them. I suggest taking out your maps to mark danger zones and maybe even your students list so you can cross out your dead friends. Of course, I'm sure they're more than just friends to you sentimental twerps."  
Shelby held her breath; it was time for the student deaths.  
"We have had a few students die throughout the night… I'll list them now. In the order they died, first was Steven, boy eleven, and next it was it was Taylor, boy fifteen and then Andy, boy four. As for the danger zones, in 10 minutes it'll be G-3, that's G-3. Then at 9 A.M. will be A-1, and finally at 11 A.M. in C-6. Don't forget, kiddies, 9 A.M. is A-1 and 11 A.M. is C-6. Remember, in ten minutes it's gonna be G-3. Have a good day, my happy warriors, and fight well! By the way, you guys that blew up the hotel last night destroyed a good piece of historical history! Thanks a lot you stupid little fighters of mine!"  
Shelby heard the sound of the microphone click off, but was too transfixed at the site of Andy lying face up at the door way of the living room she was in. Blood was caked onto his neck and white polo shirt. His eyes were still open as he lay there looking at the ceiling. Shelby followed an invisible line up to a thin wire, which was stained red.  
'No,' she thought. 'I can't remember what happened in the house, but I know I strung up that wire, and now Andy is dead.' She slowly crawled towards him, inching along. She had to do something to compensate for what she did. Looking over his head, she used her forefinger and thumb to close his eyelids. He looked much more peaceful than before, despite the horrendous amount of blood that was all over the place. Shelby felt a burden lift from her shoulders, although the fact that she was a murderer, even if it was by accident, didn't change this at all. Holding her side, she leaned back against a bloodstained couch and looked outside. It was about 6 AM, if Ms. Prok had come on at the correct time. The sun was not fully up, but it was still a little more than done rising. The beautiful streets of the island were lit up and she could see pretty colors and flowers. But it was all ruined by the sickening and disturbing stench of blood.  
She recalled the danger zones Ms. Prok had announced… in 10 minutes, G-3. 'I'm probably not in G-3, but I'll check anyway. Using her arms, she managed to stand up and used her body to carry herself into the kitchen, using the wall as her companion to help her reach the eating room. Her daypack lay on the table, and she took it in her hands and unzipped it. Inside was her map. When she tried to open it, she dropped it; wasting precious time. Then she opened the map.  
The map fell to the floor once again as her mouth was agape. According to the map… she was smack in the middle of sector G-3. 'Oh my god,' she thought, 'I've got to get out of here.' She looked at her watch - it read 6:09.  
Shelby screamed and ran to the front door. She ducked under the razorwire and ran down the road. According to the map, Joann's Fudge Shoppe was the barrier at which the danger zone ended. She could see it in her sights.  
Have you ever had that feeling where time seems to go on forever? For example, if you're in the basement of your house and a tornado goes right through it then the 30 seconds the tornado is above your head will feel like a whole day. Shelby had the same type of feeling - the candy shop was barely any distance away, yet she felt like she had to run a mile to reach it.  
Running, running, running, her heart pounded in her throat. The Shoppe was only 25 yards away. Then it was twenty yards, fifteen, ten, she could almost jump to reach it. She felt as if she could straighten her fingers as hard as she could and reach over the line. And her watch turned to 6:10.  
Joann's Fudge Shoppe had its windows splattered with blood. The slow beeping of the collar that was made every time it exploded slowly died in the wind. Shelby was standing rigid as a board. As she fell to the ground she was already dead - anyone with half a head would be dead.  
And as she fell, her pointed finger touched the edge of the safe zone. But it no longer mattered. 


	10. Chapter 11

**26 members remaining**

**11**

McKenzie was washing her face in a small sink. She had exited the school to immediately head to an abandoned house in the residential area. Shattering a window, she had entered the house and gone upstairs. She'd been lying on the bed ever since then,  
Listening to Ms. Prok's announcements, she was glad to see that the house she was hiding in was not going to be a danger zone. The chances of anyone finding her here were very unlikely.  
Her random weapon was disappointingly food poisoning, which is why she was hiding in a house right now. There was no way she could take anybody on with some cyanide… it just wasn't possible. What was she gonna do, throw the bottle at them? But she was over relaxed as she lay on the bed.  
There was a small noise downstairs, but McKenzie didn't hear it. It was the sound of a footstep on a hard floor. Someone else was in the house. McKenzie was in a daze, tired and sleepy due to the late night she had just been through. There had been massive explosions and loads of gun fire throughout the night, but she was extremely surprised to hear that only 3 people had died - one of which had died in the classroom.  
She also felt bad just sitting in this house. Someone with an own life, their own family; had lived here. And it was being used for some horrible game that involved students killing each other till only one remained.  
McKenzie felt anger boil up to her head. Ms. Prok was obviously a volunteer in this horrible, twisted game. Not only that, but she seemed to think of everything as a joke, joyously saying the names of her dead friends and the new danger zones. It disgusted her, and she pulled out a piece of bread from her bag.  
The bread was stale, and as she bit into it she felt as if she had to crunch the outer edges with her teeth. It was disgustingly chewy as well, which rubbed salt in her wounds as her stomach rumbled. 'Might as well go downstairs and look in the cupboards for something to eat,' she thought.  
Taking the stairs two at a time, she walked into the kitchen to see someone standing there.  
It was Lauren, and she looked at McKenzie and gave a slight gasp.  
"Stay back!" she said, holding her weapon in front of her. It was a drumstick, chipped all around the edges. McKenzie laughed.  
"You're going to fight me with a drumstick?" she giggled. "You're such a poser Joe Jonas fan girl, Lauren."  
"Take that back," said Lauren slowly.  
"And why should I take it back little girl?"  
"You know you'll never be as big a Joe fan as me."  
"What makes you think that? If Joe was here right now, I'm sure he'd love to have sex with me first! In fact, he wouldn't do it with you at all!"  
"You wish," screamed Lauren.

"Joe would never even look at slime like you!"

"Yes he would!"  
"How dare you say that, you total weenie?"  
"Wow, Lauren, no one says weenie anymore if, you failed to notice…"  
"Well you know what? I can say whatever I damn well want to!"  
"Stop shouting at me just because you're jealous of my Joe loving skills!"  
The small argument had gone from bad to worse.  
"Don't think I won't beat you with this!" steamed Lauren.  
"You couldn't harm a fly with that piece of crap weapon!" retaliated McKenzie.  
"Yes I could, and Joe would be quite impressed!"  
"No he wouldn't. He'd be too busy staring at my beautiful body."  
"You're so full of yourself; Joe would never go with you. I am a much more luscious woman, I mean just look at these thighs."  
Lauren slapped her thighs for McKenzie to see.  
"That's just… disturbing," blinked McKenzie, astounded.  
"Well I bet you don't have a limited edition Joe plushie?!"  
"Who needs that, he's at home in my bed right now!"  
"You perverted freak of a girl!"  
"I am not a freak you freak!"  
"You suck at comebacks if all you can do is say what I said!"  
"Well you're a fat loser!" screamed McKenzie. And this set off the fuse in Lauren. She charged at McKenzie and slammed the drumstick into her arm. A sick thump was made, but no bones were broken.  
"Now you're really going to get it!" screamed McKenzie. She ran to a drawer and opened it, pulling out a fork.  
Lauren backed off, but still remained brave, "You would never stab me with that!"  
"We'll see about that!" said McKenzie, charging at Lauren. They traded blows with each other, swiftness and strength fueled only by the determination to be the biggest Joe Jonas fan girl ever. It was quite sad, really.  
McKenzie ended up getting a scratch on Lauren's arm with the pointy edges of the fork.  
"Ouch!" exclaimed Lauren, rubbing her forearm. "You really don't think you're going to get away with that, do you?"  
"I wasn't planning on getting away with it, girl!" screamed McKenzie.  
"On guard!" screamed Lauren, raising the drumstick. More blows were parried before the two finally fell back, breathing in deeply.  
A crashing noise came from the living room on the other side of the house, and the two precariously wandered over. Stepping through a shattered window was none other than Brittany.  
"You two?" she exclaimed upon seeing McKenzie and Lauren. In her hands was a smooth wooden plank. "I heard some insults about Joe Jonas fan girls so I came here." She paused, looking at Lauren. "You got most of those from ME when we were arguing last week, which shows that I am the biggest Joe fangirl" she said triumphantly.

"NO!" Screamed both McKenzie and Lauren at the same time.

"YES! WHO HERE HAS A JOE BUDDY ICON? WHO HERE HAS JOE POSTERS ALLLL OVER HER ROOM?"

McKenzie and Lauren both raised their hands as Brittany bit her lip.

"WHO HAS FREAKIN SLEPT WITH JOE JONAS!!" She yelled, out of desperation. "SLEPT!" she added for emphasis, although it felt like she had put it on the wrong word.

McKenzie and Lauren responded by pulling out their incredibly lethal weapons.

"I thought this wooden plank was a bad weapon, but looks like you guys got worse." Said Brittany after they did so.  
"This isn't my supplied weapon," said McKenzie through gritted teeth, holding up the fork.  
The three were standing in a triangle formation, their feet planted on glass splinters. After a long, awkward pause, Lauren finally said something.  
"Like Dono said," she began. "Let the battle of the fan girls begin."  
And the three attacked.

**26 students remaining**


	11. Chapter 12

**26 students remaining**

**12**

Sara, like a few others, had woken up at the sound of Ms. Prok's voice over the speakers. She was still high atop the steeple; no one could see her where she was. She checked off the danger zones on her map and was glad to find out the fort wasn't one of them. As she was about to put a line through Taylor's name, she decided it would be more polite to put little checks by their numbers. She stuffed the goodies back in her pack and sat there.  
It was now 9 A.M., so A-1 must have become a danger zone. She doubted that anyone had died there - the zone was only a tiny portion of the north western side of the island, most likely just a small section of beach. It was then that she noticed a figure on the wall above the doors of the fort. It was a familiar girl with shoulder length brown hair. Sara instantly recognized her as Gabby, one of her best friends from home, who according to the member list was girl number 10. She could see without the binoculars that Gabby was holding a megaphone in her hand.  
'No,' thought Sara. 'She's not going to…'  
"Everyone, come here!" Gabby's voice could be heard from anywhere on the island from where she was standing. The megaphone was an amazing one to be exact, and her voice probably carried beyond the island itself.  
"Everyone, come to the Fort on the big hill! We can all band together and try and beat the system!"  
'It's not going to work,' thought Sara. 'You must get out of there.' As much as Sara feared for her, she wanted to keep her own life more and stayed put.

Angie woke Caroline and Olivia when she heard Gabby's voice. She had decided against waking them up at Ms. Prok's announcement, and that they deserved more rest for saving her life. Caroline wiped her groggy eyes and yawned, and Olivia immediately got up and started stretching her legs.  
"Listen," said Angie, stopping them in their tracks. Then they heard the voice again. It was scratchy as if it was coming from some sort of microphone, but it was different from Ms. Prok's announcement. Angie guessed it was a megaphone.  
"It's coming from the direction of the fort," noted Caroline.  
"Yeah," said Angie, "And since we have to go to the Clinic, let's head in that direction anyway." The three got up and began the long walk towards the fort.

Alejandro was crouched behind a group of trees. 'If only I had a gun,' he thought anxiously. He was maybe 20 yards away from Gabby, although he was outside of the fort, propped in the dense forest directly on the steep hillside in front of the fort. Taylor's random weapon had been completely useless - it was a piece of fake dog poo. Alejandro had looked at it with distaste before putting it back in Taylor's daypack. He'd taken the bread and three bottles of water though - they would definitely come in handy.

"Everybody, meet me in the fort!" screamed Gabby through the megaphone. Aubrey just sighed as she peered at the girl on top of the fort's front wall. She was putting herself in complete danger for the sake of everyone else. It was obvious that people were going to play the game - Aubrey had heard the gunfire last night and seen the charred remains of the Mission Point hotel. 'Not much of a hotel anymore,' thought Aubrey.  
"What's going on?" Connor H wandered out of the group of trees behind Aubrey. He was zipping up his fly and Aubrey sheepishly guessed he had been taking a leak.  
"I think it's Gabby up there. She's asking for everyone to come meet her," explained Aubrey. "I think it's a death trap."  
"I agree," said Connor. Aubrey, being Girl No. 5, had found Connor, who was Boy No. 3, inside a store shortly after exiting the school. The two had decided to band together, thinking it would be better to stick in numbers. At least for now, they were correct.

Sara sat looking at the poor girl who was putting herself in complete view for the whole island to see.  
"Come on up here!" she screamed.  
And then the shadow attacked.  
The sound of machine gun fire echoed throughout the whole island as it was projected through the megaphone. Sara watched as Gabby's body spun around in a circle, red flying in all directions. She screamed and her wail was heard by the whole island. Sara was shocked to see her fall to the ground.  
Laura walked out from behind a pillar located on the wall. Lax in her hand was an uzi, smoke rising from the barrel. She walked up to Gabby's squirming body and put the microphone to her mouth.  
"Say your farewells," she whispered to her.  
As she pulled the trigger of the gun, Gabby's powerful scream of pain was heard by the whole island as it projected through the megaphone. The insides of her stomach were turned into a trash bin at a sausage factory.

Angie, Caroline, and Olivia were just rounding the corner when they heard the familiar gunfire echoing across the air. A girl with short brown hair fell from the view, and they watched as the skinny figure of Laura stepped out of the shadows.  
"There she is," breathed Caroline. They all stood there, too stunned to move.  
It was no typical horror movie death scene. The assailant wasn't a deformed monster man, and it wasn't night. The assailant was a friend, and the sun shone brightly as it was nearing the middle of the sky. There were no clouds in the sky and it was a bright blue.  
Then an ear-splitting scream echoed over the island, accompanied with the shrill sound of typewriter keys being rapidly pressed. The island fell silent.

Alejandro heard the gunfire and saw Gabby fall. Then he instantly freaked out. He ran back through the trees the way he had come. It was then that he made the decision to put as much distance between him and the machine-gun wielding maniac as he could.

Aubrey and Connor H watched from the group of bushes they were hiding behind in horror.  
"Did she just get… killed?" asked Connor, already knowing the answer.  
"Do I need to answer that?" replied Aubrey, also asking a question at the same time.  
"This is getting worse every minute," said Connor. Then the scream with accompanying machine gun bullet music flooded the sound waves that moments before were of birds chirping and the distant sound of a train honking its horn.  
"Oh my god!" exclaimed Aubrey. She began to leave the bushes to do something.  
"Don't go you idiot!" screamed Connor. "She'll see you, then she'll come down here and kill both of us!"  
"Wait, who's she?" asked Aubrey.  
Connor replied slowly, "It's… Laura."

Sara watched the horrible scene all from close range, and began crying at the site of a young girl of 13 brutally murdered. What made her cry most was Laura's finishing move - shooting her from point blank in the stomach. It was like a balloon full of ketchup had exploded. But Sara knocked these thoughts from her head as she saw Dono walking up to the back of the fort…

**25 students remaining**


	12. Chapter 13

**13**

Dono had been awake all night, fingering the sword he had found in his pack. Ms. Prok's 6 A.M. announcement had made him decide to start walking around the island, looking for other forum members. According to his watch, it was 9 A.M. The sun shone brightly in the sky and birds chirped in the trees.  
"Everybody, get over here!"  
When Dono had first heard the voice he decided it was best to go investigate. So he traveled along the island, heading towards the voice. Most of the island was forest, although he did notice a residential area and a huge old mill. After traveling some time, he heard the sound of a machine gun. He'd heard it the night before - so he ran toward the noise.  
Breaking through the lime green tree line, he found himself outside of Mackinac Fort. He was at the back, and instantly barreled through the huge doors to see Laura shoot Gabby in the stomach from point blank. Not wanting to be seen, he ran and ducked behind a nearby barrel.  
Laura picked up the megaphone and smashed it on the cement. The scene made Dono want to stab an ice pick through his eyes. The formerly advanced student was one willing to play, and she was ruthless and cruel. Dono had no doubt that others were willing to play, but it was then that he got his first glimpse of action.  
The sword he received in his daypack was long and slender. It gleamed in the morning sun as it waited to slice someone's arm off. Dono shuddered, 'Ugh, what a thought.'  
Laura jumped down some stairs and was now at ground level with Donovan. Her small, beady eyes cris-crossed the entire area, searching for something. And then her small beady eyes found Dono.  
The barrel in front of her exploded and liquid flew everywhere. Dono jumped back as he heard the rat tat tat of the uzi being fired. He turned and darted behind a huge house and then towards a well, diving behind it. Laura steamed round the corner, headed straight at him. Dono was trapped, there was no hope… he would be killed.  
BANG! The shot sounded from across the fort. Ferris stood with his legs apart on the eastern wall, a smoking pistol clutched in his hands. Laura was hit and spun to the ground. Dono took the opportunity to run, but instead of running towards Ferris he ran in the opposite direction. It was monkey in the middle.  
Laura got up off her knees and dusted them off. She looked at her gun.  
"Dammit," she said. "The stupid kid shot my gun." The plated metal of the uzi now had a dent in it, but Laura assumed it still worked, firing into the air before pointing it at Ferris.  
"Put down the gun, Laura!" screamed Ferris in a valiant effort. He was trembling as he slowly started walking down the stairs. Laura kept watching him with her eyes, not daring to look away.  
POW!  
The 3 fighters looked to the left to see Connor M standing on a hill with a massive double barrel shotgun. He had fired it into the air and was now cocking it again.  
"Everybody put their guns down!" he ordered.  
No one put down their weapon.  
Connor commanded again, "Everyone put down your freaking guns!" Sweat was pouring down his face and Dono realized how hot the weather was. For now he was safe, so he slowly crept away and into a tourist building… and noticed a glint up on a tower of a house.

Sara was examining the scene with horror through her binoculars. The sun caught them and they flashed white in her view. She squinted and blinked to get back her vision but was unable to for several minutes. When she opened them, there was someone behind her.  
"What are you doing here?"  
She instinctively turned to defend herself, but found that it was Dono.   
"Dono, it's so horrible… Gabby," she sobbed. Dono held her. Sara didn't exactly accept, but didn't protest for her own sake.  
"I know, Sara, it's tough to take it all in. It's tough for all of us to take it all on. But let's go before Laura sees us."  
The two slowly made their way down the steeple and were facing the back doors of the fort. POW! The shotgun was heard again, and then plenty of machine gun fire and screaming. Then there was more shooting and the pounding of footsteps. Dono took one quick glance back to see Ferris escaping out of the fort, while Laura stood there with a smoking gun.  
"Wait here," he said to Sara. He slowly crept along the wall of the fort until he could see Connor M's body. It was pasted to the hill side, and the green grass had turned red. Connor had been killed.  
Running back, Dono grabbed Sara's hand and pulled her toward the exit. They charged through brush and trees, branches whipping their faces and cutting their arms. Breaking the tree line, they found themselves on the face of a large hill, but weren't able to stop themselves before tumbling down.  
Green grass and weeds were a blur in Donovan's vision as he rolled full steam ahead down the steep hill before slamming into the bottom. Sara landed headfirst not only 5 yards away. Looking up, Dono realized he'd never be able to climb that massive hill.  
"Crap," he thought, "I left my sword in the fort."  
It was true, not only had he left his sword in the fort but his daypack as well.  
And someone was coming out of the bushes.

**24 students remaining**


	13. Chapter 14

**14**

Brittany, McKenzie and Lauren all in bounded on each other, weapons clattering together. The wooden plank Brittany held was covered with various splinters. A mere scratch could infect your whole body. The weapon was as dangerous as the fork McKenzie was holding, which could easily penetrate the surface of the skin.  
Lauren jumped back and ran into the kitchen, leaving McKenzie and Brittany in a stand-off duel. The carpet was covered in glass splinters which cut into McKenzie's feet, leaving bloody footprints where she jumped. Ducking, she avoided a nasty blow from Brittany's plank - leaving her belly exposed. McKenzie dived toward it and stabbed the fork in. Brittany grunted and brought the plank down on McKenzie's head.  
"I knew we'd all meet up, I just felt it," said Brittany. "I guess there really will be a battle of the fan girls; I just never expected it to be like this. Now it's time for Joe Jonas to realize how strong I am and fall in love with me."  
The two collided in yet another epic match, forcing and dodging blows while managing to stay on their feet. Blood literally soaked patches of the carpet. Lauren ran back in and jumped on Brittany's back, pulling at her hair. Brittany screamed and turned, whacking Lauren in the arm. It cut her arm open and she slammed into the wall. Brittany advanced on her, but not before McKenzie punched her in the jaw. She fell to the ground with blood leaking from her chin.  
"Don't make me angry you total idiot!" screamed Brittany. She got up and turned to face the two. Her chin had a large gash in it and she was breathing deeply.  
"You started this!" screamed McKenzie. Realizing what she'd done, she was crying as she said this. It's impossible to teach aggression to someone, or at least they say so, and McKenzie felt as if she had just taught it to herself.  
But Brittany was trying to kill her.  
McKenzie scrambled her confidence and ran into the kitchen. Charging up the stairs, she ran into her room to see her daypack. And then there was the cyanide. Discarding both, she ran into the closet and pulled out a golf bag. 'Yes,' she thought. 'Thank god they left this in the house.' Pulling out a 5 iron, she returned downstairs to see Brittany and Lauren fiercely dueling.  
"I'll kill you before you kill me!" said Lauren fighting with the drumstick. Brittany was using the thick, massive weapon to strike at Lauren, whose injured arm dangled at her side.

"Even Death wouldn't stop me from loving Joe Jonas, I'm such a dedicated fan girl!" Brittany screamed at the top of her lungs, backing up. Then Brittany tripped and fell toward a glass door that led to someone's deck.  
McKenzie watched the scene in horror as Brittany smashed through the glass and fell backwards off the deck and towards a pool. A look of horror was etched upon Brittany's soon-to-be lifeless face as she splashed into the pool. The water turned red and Brittany turned and lay face down, lifeless.  
Lauren and McKenzie slowly approached the body, careful not to make any disturbances. It bobbed in the pool like a floating apple. The sun was shining brilliantly and the heat hit McKenzie like a train. But all her thoughts were concentrated on if Brittany was dead or not.  
Lauren was the first to walk through the shattered glass door. It looked as if some sort of cabinet had gone through the windshield, the hole was that big. Now even more glass shards lay on the carpet where Brittany and McKenzie had been fighting not long ago.  
The deck which lay in front of the pool was smothered with its own nice set of glass, even more than in the room. Massive chunks of it lay in pieces all over the dark wooden area meant for relaxing. Some pieces were stuck into lawn chairs that would have once served a much different purpose. Blood also spotted in the ground in tiny bits, but most of it was in the pool were Brittany lay.  
McKenzie followed Lauren out of the massive hole and looked toward the pool.  
"Oh my god," breathed Lauren. "Is she dead?"  
"Are we murderers?" asked McKenzie. Lauren looked at her.  
"Don't call me a murderer, she was talking to you when she backed into the pool!" she replied.  
"Wait, I didn't lay a finger on her before she fell in the pool! You were the one fighting!" screamed McKenzie.  
"And I care why? You killed her and you know it!" shouted Lauren back at her. Then she swung the drumstick back to strike McKenzie.. But her arm didn't budge. There was a sickly sweet sound from behind her.  
McKenzie had a look of shock on her face, and Lauren turned around to see the drumstick she had just moments ago swung back lodged in the throat of Brittany.  
Her eyes looked around wildly, and then she fell forward. The drumstick had gone completely through her neck and out the back. It was smeared with blood. Her body slammed to the wooden floor of the dark with a sick crunch. The crimson stained drumstick stuck up in the air like a flag pole. Except it wasn't flying a flag, it was flying a chunk of gray something.  
Lauren and and the lifeless Brittany stared at each other. Both their mouths hung open, both looking from the mutilated body to each other.  
McKenzie broke the silence, "What have we done?"  
It took Lauren awhile to answer, moving her mouth slowly whilst no words came out. Then she pulled in the air and was finally able to say, "Nothing happened."  
McKenzie stared at her, "What do you mean nothing happened? She's dead."  
Lauren looked back, "Shut up! Let's walk away and pretend nothing happened!" Her whole body was shaking. Then she went into shock and fell to the floor, convulsing and vomiting all over herself. McKenzie screamed in horror at the sight and ran away. Lauren watched as she ran out of the gate located in the back garden and disappeared. Her body was moving uncontrollably and she was unable to do anything. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she gasped for breath.  
'Am I going to die here?' she thought. 'I can't die here, no I can't. I… I just don't want to die yet. I can't die yet…'  
Thoughts of her siblings at home crossed her mind, and images of her parents smiling.  
Everyone's been through it - their parents don't let them do something they want, their parents ground them for failing a test, etc. It happens to everyone who's a child. At some point, they mutter under their breath 'I hate you.'  
But Lauren fought through tears as she thought of her parents. It was then she realized that through all the hardships, all the tears and fights, she loved her parents more than anything in the world. She could see them smiling now, when she received loving gifts from them, when her mom made her the best meal she could ever have. Then it was the times that her dad would still listen to her and play with her even when he came home late from work.  
And that night; when she was lying in bed after a huge argument with her dad. She couldn't remember what it was about, but she knew it was huge. She was lying in bed, the tears slowly letting up, when the door opened. Light streamed into the room like a river of gold, but she pretended she was still asleep, still clenching her eyes shut. She recognized the heavy footsteps of her dad in her room. He stopped walking and there was silence for a long time. Then he moved again, and there was a small clatter on her bedside table. More footsteps and the room returned to darkness. Lauren opened her eyes to make sure he was gone and looked at her dresser.  
Through the shadows she saw the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. On it was a light blue butterfly, and the chain was so silver it easily penetrated the wall of darkness that coated her room.  
As she clenched it tightly in her hand, more tears fell from her eyes. As much as she fought with her dad, he still loved her. He still cared about her with all his heart. And she held the beautiful necklace all night.  
Here she was, on her hands and knees, coughing up vomit, when she saw the necklace dangling from her neck. Her parents weren't gone, she thought. 'They're here with me right now.'  
Fighting shock, she stood up and took one last look at Brittany. She bent down and turned over her body, so that she was face. The drumstick made a squelching noise as she pulled it from the face of Brittany. Blood dripped onto her face, but she wiped it off with her thumb.  
Lauren stood up and clasped the drumstick. With one quick throw, she chucked it into the pool. It made a small splash and bobbed once before sinking to the bottom of the pool. Lauren stood there watching it slowly sink to the bottom. 'How long will it rest there?' she thought. 'Hopefully, hopefully, it will rest there forever.'  
Then she turned toward Brittany again. Bending over, she used her thumb and forefinger to close her eyes.  
"I'm sorry," she said, and one of her tears fell onto Brittany's face.  
Lauren turned and walked out of the yard, leaving behind a trail of tears.  
Every second moved slowly. 

**23 students remaining**


	14. Chapter 15

**23 students remaining**

**15**

Angie, Caroline, and Olivia ran past the fort where just seconds ago Laura Mansfeild had shot Gabby to a pulp. They ran past the familiar trees and into the familiar town, Angie lifting her map.  
"We have to head left," she said, pointing with her finger. Caroline and Olivia looked left to see a large hill going up the side of the fort.  
"We should be real careful," said Caroline, "Who knows where Laura is."  
They were lucky as they ran up the hill, for they did not encounter Laura or anyone on the way. There was the Clinic at the top of the large hill.  
"Let's get in there quick," said Olivia. They listened, quickly running into the Clinic.  
"Are there any bandages?"  
Angie didn't like the scenery one bit while she was on the way to the Clinic. She'd seen the completely demolished ruins of the Mission Point hotel - a place she had stayed in before on vacation. It was the charred remains of something once beautiful, a pile of wood and metal maybe 10 feet high at its upper most point. Then there were bullet holes in the cement too… which made her wonder what else could be going on as she sat here in this building. She could have sworn she'd seen a body lying somewhere far away down the road on the way here, but it was in a danger zone and for all she knew it could have been some sort of log or pile of dung - which horses seemed to leave for visitors to the island every 3 to 4 feet.  
"Are there any bandages?"  
Seeing Gabby, a young brunette girl of 13, get brutally murdered by Laura made anger rise in Angie to the top. She knew Gabby would get killed as soon as she tried to summon everyone to the fort, but she had died bravely and with good intentions. Angie hoped that she would have died quickly, but this thought was banished as she remembered the ear-splitting scream that you would have to be deaf not to have heard. The megaphone literally made her voice echo across the whole island, which in truth was really not that huge. But still, she had died horribly and in such a sickening way that he knew everyone who saw the event would want to just rip out Laura's teeth, punch her in the mouth till it bled and stick her on a pole to hang until the crows ate her. 'Whoa,' thought Angie. 'That may be going a little far. Or maybe not (she remembered the scream) but whether it is or is not, I want to kill her myself.' Maybe she'd get the chance too? Whether it was her or not, she'd be glad just to have Laura dead.  
"Are there any bandages?"  
The clinic was small, two rooms large. They were sitting in the main room, which was lined with cupboards and shelves, all holding various bottles and medical oddities. The walls were a drab gray, but Angie decided that a clinic didn't need to be stylish. It was a clinic, for Christ sakes. The second room was a kitchen, which Angie didn't know what edibles it held. Olivia was nosing around inside, opening various draws and cupboards, pulling out various paper plates and cups. There was also a refrigerator, which Angie assumed had old moldy food in it by now.  
"Are there any bandages?"  
Angie turned to see Caroline ask her the question.  
"Yeah, let me just go look," she replied, rising from her kneeling position.  
"It took you long enough to answer!" shouted Caroline as she rifled through cupboards to eventually pull out some thin roll. It was indeed bandages, and she began to unravel them as she walked towards Caroline.  
"You said you removed the bullet, right?" asked Angie.  
"Yeah, I chipped it out with the scythe while Laura was chasing me," she answered. Angie nodded and began going through more cupboards until she pulled out some disinfectant.  
"I'm sorry, Caroline, but I'm gonna have to use this."  
Caroline looked in horror at the evil substance. It was the substance that any kid, any one person, hated the most. Pouring it on wounds, it would burn like the fires of hell and sting like a thousand needles piercing your eye. Caroline knew not if it helped or not, but it didn't seem to do much except cause extreme pain. 'How much more do I have to endure before I can settle down?' thought Caroline.  
Angie unscrewed the cap and poured some onto her finger. She licked it once and said, "This is definitely disinfectant. Get in here Olivia!"  
Olivia walked into the room, "Yes?"  
"I'm going to pour disinfectant, well, rubbing alcohol, onto Caroline's bullet wound. I'm going to need you to hold her mouth closed while I do it."  
Olivia cringed and then nodded, getting down behind Caroline's head.  
"Now," began Angie. "This is going to hurt like hell, Caroline. This wound you have goes deep, and so will this. Your first urge will be to scream and then grab the wound. I'm going to prevent this." Angie then grabbed some wire from a cupboard which she'd obviously spotted earlier and began wrapping it round Caroline.  
"Can you move?" she asked, as Caroline tried to get out.  
"I can barely budge my left pinky," said Caroline. "I'm more stuck to this table than when Sticky the Stick Bug got stuck on an extra sticky Sticky Bun."  
Angie just looked at her, "Yeah, well that's great. Let's get this over with." She then proceeded by grabbing some towel and putting it into a ball.  
"Are you ready?" she asked Caroline. Caroline nodded. Then Angie stuffed the paper wad into Caroline's mouth. She could still breathe, but was unable to talk.  
Then she explained to Olivia, "Now, what I need you to do is clasp your hand firmly but gently over her mouth so she can't speak."  
"But she can't speak anyway. There's a paper wad stuck in her mouth," she said.  
"Yeah, but she could still spit it out," explained Angie. "Anyway, try and hold her head against your chest as still as you can. You don't want her going to crazy when this happens." Then she raised the open bottle above Caroline's wound. The familiar smell fell over the room as Caroline was shaking.  
"Are you ready?" she asked Caroline for the second time. Of course, Caroline never got to answer as Angie poured the liquid into the wound.  
It was like pulling a trigger, as soon as the steaming antibacterial hit the wound, Caroline set off. She writhed under the wire, her face straining. Angie gently dabbed the wound with more paper towel, which was hard to do as Caroline's leg flailed as much as it could under the pressure of the wire. Her face was beet red and screwed up in total pain. Olivia tried to hold her head still, but she was moving about too much. Angie kept doing her doctor treatments as she tightly wrapped a bandage around Caroline's leg. Then she taped it up and wiped her hands together, "All done."  
Olivia released her hands and removed the paper wadding from Caroline's mouth. She breathed deeply before slowly calming down. The red from her face returned to a shade of peach, and Angie untied the wire. Red already began to stain the bandage where Caroline had been shot, but at least, for now, it wouldn't get infected.  
"You'll be glad we did that," said Angie. "When we aren't amputating it tonight."  
Caroline tried to laugh at this, but she coughed and choked like a dying car engine instead.  
"You should get her some water," suggested Angie. Olivia came hurrying in with a glass of water, which she gently placed on Caroline's lips. She drank and then wiped her lip with her forearm.  
"Let's get down to business," she said, sitting up. "We need to list all the supplies we can if we want to build a bomb."  
"Well," began Angie, "Obviously some gas - which we can find in some cars around the island I'm shore. We'll also need lots of gun powder, which I'm sure we can find in the fort - they shoot guns off in their all the time. We'll also need sulfur or coal; either will do, that way, if for example we push it off a cliff it'll explode upon impact. Finally, I'd say we need some sort of trolley or cart to put it all in when it's done being built."  
"I'm starting to get tired," said Olivia. "I think that we should just call it a night and do all this crap tomorrow."

"Olivia," said Caroline blatantly. "It's 12 PM!"  
Beep! The crackly voice came over the loudspeakers.  
"Speaking of 12," said Angie, "time for another one of Ms. Prok's happy go lucky announcements." She sat back against the wall and rolled her eyes.  
"Hello my children of the corn! Seems like we have quite a bit of new for you guys… including some deaths! And of course those danger zones to top it all off. Now, without further ado… First the deaths. The first one to die since I announced the danger zones was Shelby. The poor girl, she seemed like she had such talent too. Then it was Gabby, Connor M, and finally Brittany. Seems as if we have 23 of you remaining ("this sickens me," muttered Olivia) and the pace seems good too! Finally your danger zones, they're always important and whatnot… Yeah, at like 1 PM we're totally having C-3 be a danger zone. Then at 4 it's gonna be B-2. That's all till my next announcement guys and girls… so till then keep mutilating each others bodies!"  
Click.  
"That bitch!" screamed Caroline, lowering her map. "The Clinic is gonna be a danger zone all too soon. I'm so pissed; I can barely walk right now."  
"Well, we have till 4 PM," said Angie. "I think we can hold out till 3 and gather supplies and food from here till then."  
The three sat awaiting the time of 4, bustling around and gathering food and water and bomb supplies. Caroline stretched her leg, trying to make it feel better, although it hurt like a mother. They were eventually able to pack up their bags with supplies and try to find a spot for the night to sleep. They walked out the door.

**23 students remaining**


	15. Chapter 16

**16**

Dono, Sara and McKenzie sat together. It was dark, and Dono's glow watch read 9: 23 PM. Ms. Prok had been angry in her 6 PM, saying that no one had died since noon. But this didn't matter to Donovan. Ms. Prok had even said herself that the 2nd day was almost upon them. If this was true, then Dono had at the most 50 hours left of his life. Unless he won the game. But he banished the sickening thought as he looked at Sara.  
McKenzie had come barreling out of the bushes at a fast pace, bouncing into Sara and falling to the ground. She looked hysterical, and informed them that Lauren was out to kill, that she had already gotten her grubby hands on Brittany. This was soon confirmed when Ms. Prok announced the death of Brittany, and Donovan grimaced at the thought. She had been with them ever since, too afraid to go leave their pack (although Sara insisted that them traveling as one big group was not a good idea at all).  
Dono thought of the last 24 hours as the day waned. It seemed like it was all only a surreal dream he'd woken up from but 5 minutes ago. But he knew, as he pinched himself, that he was here in the flesh. He'd told himself this multiple times, but sometimes just failed to truly realize it. The simple thought of what was going on… it was just too ridiculous. He wondered if the news of this would filter to other countries. This could be worse than the holocaust, bigger than 9/11, maybe even worse than genocide.  
"Do you know what genocide is?"  
Dono remembered when Ms. Prok had asked this back in the classroom. What was going on wasn't genocide, it wasn't mass murder… but it was murder nonetheless, and Dono sat helpless without even a weapon. 'Why didn't I remember my sword?' he thought. 'That's a weapon I think would be helpful. But there's nothing I can do now.'  
It was true; there was absolutely nothing he could do at this point. Not to get his sword, not to escape the island, not to shout for help. He was trapped.  
"I really think there's nothing we can do, we can't escape, we can't run and there's no hiding from them with these collars," he said.  
"There must be some way to get out of here," said Sara.  
McKenzie sat with her legs pressed against her chest, not sating anything as the moon became visible over the tree tops.  
"I honestly think they've done everything possible to erase any way of us escaping. They've taken every possible idea and massacred it," said Dono.  
"I agree," said Sara. "But maybe for now we should just keep traveling and avoid the dangers of those willing to play. Maybe another member will come up with something to do."  
"I'm just so pissed," moaned Dono. "I really thought I'd get to have some fun y'know? Now some of us are dying, and quickly too."  
"Like Brittany," said McKenzie, from the shadows.  
"Tell us more about it," said Sara. "We really want to know what happened."  
"I'll tell you the whole story," said McKenzie. Dono and Sara nodded.  
"I was sitting in a house all on my own. There was a noise from outside, and I turned to see Lauren creeping up on Brittany. Sensing the danger, I tried to open my window and warn her, but it was too late. Lauren cut her throat. Then Lauren saw me and entered the house. Instinct told me to get out of there quick, so I did. She chased me for ages, saying that if I didn't slow down she'd cut my wrists. Eventually, I lost her. I was so glad but I kept running. Then I found you guys."  
"That's quite a story," said Dono.  
"We'll have to keep that in mind if we see Lauren," mentioned Sara, which Donovan hastily agreed to.

The game is full of death, destruction and hatred. But the one thing you must try to achieve is trust.  
McKenzie had betrayed them all. 

**23 students remaining**


	16. Chapter 17

**23 students remaining**

**17**

"So can you count on me?"  
It was 8 AM, the sun was shining brightly, and Connor H and Aubrey stood behind a large house inside the fort. People must have been resting, for there were no deaths throughout the night, although at 12 PM Ms. Prok had announced some new danger zones that weren't even close to their location.  
Brittany had been killed before noon, as well as Gabby, Connor M, and Shelby. Connor H had watched in awe as Ferris managed to escape Laura by jumping of the wall of the fort. All he'd seen was Ferris fall into a patch of trees and disappear from view. He wasn't dead, either, but Connor had no clue where he was.  
Aubrey and he were both looking at a sword lying in a complete open area in the middle of the fort. The sunlight created beautiful patterns as light glanced in all directions from the mirrored object.  
"So what do you think it's doing there?" asked Aubrey.  
"I dunno," replied Connor. "But I know you and me are thinking the exact same thing right now."  
"And what is that?" asked Aubrey.  
"Who the hell would want a sword as their weapon?!"  
Aubrey laughed at this, then stated, "I can't believe I just laughed when almost 24 hours ago I witnessed Gabby get slaughtered." She looked up to see the body of Gabby on top of the wall of the fort. Blood dripped down the edge facing them. It was sickening.  
"Here's the plan," said Connor.  
"Come on, we've already gone over the plan like 5 times!" exclaimed Aubrey.  
"Yeah, but you can never be too sure," he replied.  
"Fine, say it one more time," she rolled her eyes.  
"Okay, first we count to three. Then I run and grab the sword while you run and close Gabby's eyelids. From there we both meet at Connor's body and grab the gun he had. Then we get out of here. Good enough?"  
"Of course," replied Aubrey.  
"Well then, go!"  
Connor ran across grass and dirt. The sword was maybe 30 yards in front of him, which he reached quickly. There were detailed patterns on the handle, and he picked it up with ease.  
Meanwhile, Aubrey was on top of the wall. Gabby was laying face up, little holes all over her body. The white top that all the girls were wearing was more like a red top and her eyes were closed tightly. Aubrey pulled her body behind a small turret and smiled at her.  
"Rest in peace," she said.  
Then she looked to see Connor also moving swiftly toward Connor M's body, so she did too.  
The sight that greeted them was horrible. But it wasn't just the blood and the stench, but it was something else.  
This 'something else' was a note that was tacked to Connor M's face. The tack had a nice red handle, and poked into Connor M's forehead perfectly straight.  
"Oh my god," breathed Connor. The sight was horrible.  
But it was on the note that shocked them the most, for it said:

_Thanks for the gun, Connor M :3_

- _Laura_

_P.S. You need a tan. All the relaxing _  
_you'll be doing should get you one._

"That is sickening…" said Aubrey, open-mouthed. They knew Laura was horrible, but not… not this horrible. Connor proceeded to remove the tack and crumple up the note. He threw it off to the side and kneeled down to close Connor M's eyelids.  
"I hope you have fun relaxing," he said gently. "I'm sure… I'm sure that what you're doing right now is much better than this."  
He got up and turned away.  
"Let's go," he said. "We shouldn't stay in this place for too long."  
Aubrey nodded, and the two set off.  
It was true, Connor M would be doing a lot of relaxing. But Connor realized that he would truly rather be dead than playing the game.  
'Anyone would rather be dead than playing this horrible game,' he thought. 'In fact, I really should just kill myself.'  
"I heard what you said," mentioned Aubrey. "I hope you're not planning on killing yourself or something. We must try and get out of this."  
"I know, I don't mean to kill myself," lied Connor. 'Well,' he thought. 'Maybe I should stay and help everyone else who isn't willing to play, …' And then he thought of the note he would right to Connor M.

_Dear Connor M,_

_Wherever you are, it must be better than here. If you're watching us now, then somehow send us a way to get out of here. We need your help. Everyone who's not willing to play this horrible game needs your help._

_Connor H_

_P.S. I'm sure the tan will make you look nicer wherever you are._

As he thought these words, Aubrey began to cry. Tears ran down her face, and she looked at Connor to see him looking down at his friends body.  
"It's ok to cry," she said, wiping her face. "But never forget that he is somewhere better than this right now."  
And with that thought the two walked off. 


	17. Chapter 18

**23 students remaining**

**18**

Lexie (Girl No. 8) sat twiddling her thumbs in the giant ballroom of the Grand Hotel. There was a vast stage on the far side of the room. A tiled dancing floor took up a quarter of the whole floor. Lexie was sitting in a chair at a silk covered table, her daypack laid in front of her.  
She had gathered some supplies from storage room as she came. They were random things she had collected - scotch tape, rope, extra water, some towels; anything she would need if she was to try and survive. Sitting here was boring, but she had decided long ago that it was better than going out into the depths of the island. Only death could possibly await her, or she'd fall into someone's horrible trap.  
Shuddering, she looked to the left of these valuable objects to see two hand grenades set next to each other. They were dark and shiny, and made Lexie quiver at the sight of them. 'I'll use them eventually,' she thought. For she had also decided that if anyone were to intrude upon her she wouldn't hold back… she'd kill. It was all about saving herself, and she hoped her location wasn't eventually called as a danger zone.  
Crash! Lexie looked quickly toward the double doors of the gigantic room to see them shaking violently. They finally opened, and Aly (Girl No. 14) walked into the room holding a Swiss Army Knife. Lexie had the grenades in her pocket at the sight of her and stood up.  
"Aly, is that you?" she asked. Aly turned to her and jumped, but settled down after realizing it was only Lexie- her best friend.  
"Yeah, it's me," she replied, walking toward Lexie without any worries at all. She seemed like she was in her own little world.  
"What are you doing here?" asked Lexie.  
"Well, this game is just freaking me out, so I decided I'd stop off somewhere," she explained. "I was actually looking for someone in fact. What do you think of this horrible game?"  
"Well," began Lexie, "I don't think I'd ever play… it just seems too horrible for me. Why would you want to kill someone? Even if you barely know them, it's still murder and it's still completely horrible. I really hope some other people out there realize this before something too bad happens. You never know what happens during this game."  
"And I'm guessing you've heard the deaths so far," said Aly.  
"Yeah, it's pretty shocking just hearing the names of the people I was talking to only a few days ago being named 'dead.'"  
"I agree with you," said Aly. "If you want my honest opinion, this whole thing is one big mess."  
"Indeed it is," said Lexie.  
"Seeing as this isn't a danger zone, can I stay here with you girly? I've been looking for you the entire game. I'm so glad you're not playing" spoke Aly.  
Lexie thought this over slowly, 'Well, I could say yes… and then kill her later? Or I could use her as a shield… I think if I say yes I'll be able to get at her soon, so I guess that's what I'll say…'  
"Yeah, sure," said Lexie, smiling as best she could to her soon-to-be-victim best friend. Aly was glad she smiled. Lexie, on the other hand, was smiling because she knew death would be quick and swift upon Aly, so clumsily looking around without even sensing the hands of death creep upon her. Lexie fingered the deadly grenades in her pocket, round like peaches, but more deadly than a gun. She'd have to be quick - or the grenade shrapnel would slice through her skin like a hot knife through butter. Or she could do it an easier way…  
"I have to go to the bathroom," said Lexie. "I'll be right back, just wait here."  
Then she got up and walked in the direction of Aly. Aly was looking around, innocently staring at pictures of old framers that littered the high walls. Without and notice, Lexie grabbed Aly and pulled her neck back, instantly stunning her.  
She then proceeded to pick up Aly's flailing limp body and shove her to the ground. Aly got her senses back, and stood up to face Lexie.  
"What are you doing?" she screamed.  
"I'm going to kill you," smiled Lexie

"After all these years of being friends?" squeaked Aly.

Lexie just laughed. "Trust no one in the game." She said, smiling evilly.  
Lexie then hopped over a table and kicked Aly squarely in the chest. Aly flew back like a rag doll into a table, slamming against it and falling to the ground. Slowly getting up, as if she had no time to waste, she wiped the blood from her lip and stared at Lexie.  
"How can you play the game?" she asked.  
Lexie replied, "Choosing to play the game is not the matter here. The matter is that in a battle I will win. I have concluded that this game is a simple survival of the fittest. Ms. Prok made it quite clear, didn't she? She said that we are the dregs of society. By winning this game I can prove that I am not one of you urchins. When I'm finished today, I'll be wiping you off the bottom of my shoe."  
Aly looked stunned, "But Lexie, you must surely be joking? You must know that it's possible for us to beat the system. There must be a way to do it without failure. Why kill me when we could band together, maybe with others, and possibly beat Ms. Prok, the soldiers and then the government itself?"  
"And what ideas do you have right now? The school is a danger zone, even someone as foolish as you must realize this. So what do you plan to do, throw rabid raccoons at it until one of them gets in and bites Ms. Prok to bits?" Lexie shouted.  
Aly started getting desperate. She felt like she was losing a battle here, nor did she know what weapon Lexie had. Her weapon, a Swiss Army Knife, was lying on a table on the other side of Lexie. It was impossible to get it.   
Then Lexie jumped and struck Aly across the head. The blow hit hard, and Aly felt her body lapse in time as it struck the hard floor. Looking up, she saw Lexie appear in front of her. Her foot lifted into the air and struck down hard on Aly's tummy. She was winded, and tears streamed from her eyes.  
Lexie grabbed her and lifted her onto a table. She quickly grabbed some ropes and wrapped them around Aly's body and the table, effectively tying her down.  
Aly watched in horror as the scene continued but was winded and unable to move. When her stomach got back some air, she realized that she was tied too tightly to the table and couldn't budge an inch.  
"You were a fool to come here, Aly," said Lexie. "And now you shall pay the price."  
Lexie then pulled out a grenade from her back pocket. Aly watched in horror as she fingered it slowly, moving it around in her hand.  
"This is such a small object, yet it can be so deadly," said Lexie. "I think I shall use it for my own doing. As in; now." Lexie looked at her watch to see exactly what 'now' was. It read 8: 42 A.M. It was the 2nd day, too. Time for her first kill.  
Grabbing the tape behind her, she shoved one of the grenades into Aly's mouth. The pin was sticking up and out of Aly's lips, toward the ceiling. Lexie then proceeded to tape her mouth closed. She put more tape over Aly's eyes so she couldn't see, and then said the last words Aly would ever hear.  
"Maybe if it had been someone cooler, like a cute boy with a good weapon, but not a girl with a puny knife who thinks she's my best friend, someone for which I prefer not to waste my time. So now I suggest you say your goodbyes to your friends and family in your heart."  
Then she grabbed the pin and pulled it out of the grenade - and ran.

Lexie was just closing the double doors of the gigantic ballroom when a huge explosion rocked the foundations of the hotel. The two doors shook violently but did not break. Eventually, everything settled down.  
Lexie turned around to open the doors, and just as she was about to pull them open she decided not to. Turning away, she grinned and walked down the hallway. She had her first kill, the first dead person of one. She pulled the other grenade out of her pocket and flipped it into the air once.  
"I'll have to use you another time," she laughed.  
"How about now?"

Lexie's death was quick and painless, as bullets from a rattling machine gun managed to make contact with the grenade. Her body, of course, was blown to bloody chunks, but they were too small and all over the place to really care. At least not to Laura, who stood holding a smoking Uzi. A shotgun was strapped round her back too.  
"Never hold a grenade out at gunpoint," laughed Laura. Her laugh was a hearty one, loud and clear.  
"Never hold your body out in the open."  
This voiced wasn't from Laura, though. She slowly turned to see Chris standing with a mini pistol. It was pointed straight at Laura.  
"You horrible dirty bitch," said Chris. 


End file.
